LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


LINCOLNIANA. 


Boston: 

WILLIAM    V.    SPENCER. 

1865. 


A^o. 


ONLY    2^0    COPIES    PRINTED. 


Caiiibiidgc  :  Printed  by  yohn  Wilson  and  Sons. 


'Hjl<X    Cck, 


T 


"'OC  /v^ 


PREFACE. 


"ii 

vn 


HATEVER  relates  to  our  Martyr-President  possesses 
undying  interest.  In  this  work,  the  Publisher  has 
aimed  to  snatch  from  oblivion  some  of  the  best  of  the 
many  discourses  and  comments  on  Mr.  Lincoln's  life  and  charac- 
ter, by  transferring  them  from  the  papers  of  the  day  to  a  worthy 
place  in  our  permanent  literature.  The  volume  contains  nothing 
heretofore  published  in  a  pamphlet  or  book  form.  The  Table  of 
Contents  shows  the  breadth  of  the  field  from  which  the  present 
sheaf  has  been  gleaned;  for,  in  forming  the  volume,  the  lines  of 
party,  se6t,  and  nation,  have  been  completely  ignored.  In  bind- 
ing these  scattered  leaves  together  into  a  memorial  chaplet,  the 
Publisher  would  show  his  respe6t  for  the  memory  of  the  Great 
Emancipator. 


Boston,  Sept.  9,  1865. 


CONTENTS. 


Abbott,  Rev.  F.  E 

Brigham,  Rev.  C.  H.    .     .     . 

CoRDNER,  Rev.  J 

Chadv4?ick,  Rev.  J.  W.  .     .     . 

CoRVi^iN,  Rev.  E.  T 

Damon,  Rev.  S.  C 

DuTTON,  Rev.  O.  H.  ... 
Hartzell,  Rev.  J.  H.  .  .  . 
Hughes,  Rev.  D.  L.  ... 
Hull,  Rev.  Moses  .... 
JuNKiN,  Rev.  Geo.,  D.D.  .  . 
Marshall,  Rev.  W.  R.  .  . 
Potts,  Rev.  J.  F.,  B.A.  .  . 
Rowland,  Rev.  L.  S.  .  .  . 
Stratton,  Rev.  J.  B.,  D.D.  . 
Silver,  Rev.  Abiel  .... 

Talbott,  Rev.  J.  J 

Watson,  Rev.  B.,  D.D.      .  •  . 


SERMONS. 

Page 

.  .  Dover,  N.H i 

.  .  Taunton,  Mass 8 

.  .  Montreal,  Canada 21 

.  .  Brooklyn,  N.Y 36 

.  .  Millstone,  N.J 52 

.  .  Honolulu,  Sandwich  Is 63 

.  .  Holjoke,  Mass 76 

.  .  Buffalo,  N.Y 89 

.  .  Des  Moines,  Iowa 100 

.  •  Battle  Creek,  Mich 123 

.*  .  Philadelphia,  Pa.   . 134 

.  .  Columbus,  Ohio 148 

.  .  London,  Eng 167 

.  .  Bangor,  Me 177 

.  .  Natchez,  Miss 186 

.  .  Wilmington,  Del 204 

.  .  Louisville,  Ky 212 

.  .  Philadelphia,  Pa 218 


EULOGIES,   SPEECHES,   AND   LETTERS. 

Banks,  Gen.  N.  P New  Orleans,  La 233 

Carruthers,  Rev.  J.  J.,  D.D.    .     .     .     Portland,  Me 239 

Gilbert,  Surgeon  R.  H Jefferson,  Ind 248 

b 


VI 


Contents. 


Pace 

IluRLBUT,  Maj.-Gcn New  Orleans,  La 253 

Jones,  A.  T Philadelphia,  Pa 258 

Stebbins,   Rev.   H San  Francisco,  Cal 268 

Thompson,  Rev.  J.  P.,  D.D New  York 274 

Adams,  Hon.  C.  F London,  England 281 

Disraeli,  Hon.  Benj ,,  .,  286 

Grey,  Sir  George ,,  ,,  288 

Morse,  Hon.  F.  H ,,  ,,  296 

Russell,  Lord  John ,,  ,,  298 

Smith,  Prof.  Goldwin .,,  ,,  303 

Da  Silva,  Sr.  R Lisbon,  Portugal 307 

D'AuBiGNE,  Dr.  Merle Geneva,  Switzerland 315 

Democratic  Association Florence,  Italy 317 

Lawrence,  T.  B ,,  ,, 318 

Laboulaye,  Edouard Paris,  France 320 

Mill,  John  Stuart Avignon,  France        293 

Martin,  Henri Paris,  France 327- 


APPENDIX. 

Letter  from  Rev.  Elias  Nason 333 

List  of  Publications  relating  to  the  Assassination,  Death,  and  Funeral 

OBSEqyiEs  OF  Abraham  Lincoln 334 


SERMONS. 


r 


LINCOLNIANA. 


THE   MARTYR   OF   LIBERTY: 

A    SERMON    PREACHED    IN    THE    UNITARIAN    CHURCH,    DOVER,    N.H., 
ON    SUNDAY,    APRIL    1 6,    1S65  ; 

BY    THE    PASTOR, 

REV.    FRANCIS     E.    ABBOT. 


Gen.  1.  19  :    "  Fear  not;  for  am  I  in  the  place  of  God?" 

DEAR  friends,  we  assemble  this  morning,  in  our  house  of 
worship,  in  the  shadow  of  a  mighty  affli6tion.  The  hearts 
of  a  vast  nation  are  throbbing  with  anguish,  horror,  and  dismay. 
The  pistol  of  the  assassin  has  done  its  hellish  work;  and  he, 
"who,  by  the  enthusiastic  acclamations  of  a  great  people,  was 
declared,  but  five  short  months  ago,  our  chosen  leader  in  the 
march  to  universal  freedom,  our  foremost  champion  of  liberty, 
has  now  become  its  martyr.  In  his  fall,  the  country  bleeds  at 
every  pore;  the  stoutest  heart  thrills  with  fear;  and  the  voice  of 
universal  wailing  is  our  requiem  for  the  great  departed.  Trea- 
son, which  we  thought  lay  buried  beneath  the  yet  warm  ashes  of 
Richmond,  has  leaped  over  the  heads  of  our  vi6torious  armies, 
and  carried  by  storm  the  impregnable  forts  of  Washington.     To- 


The  Martyr  of  Liberty. 


day,  the  enemies  of  God  and  man  rejoice:  to-day,  friends,  there 
is  jubilee  in  hell. 

I  had  planned  to  congratulate  you  this  morning  on  the  down- 
fall of  rebellion,  and  the  inauguration  of  a  new  civilization.  I 
had  planned  to  speak  hopeful  words  of  our  own  prospe6tive 
airencv  in  redeeming  mankind  from  barbarism  and  sin;  and  to 
urge  you,  with  fresh  courage  and  rekindled  zeal,  to  do  your  part 
in  this  great  and  noble  work.  But  that  theme  must  wait:  God 
has  given  me  a  different  message  to-day.  One  subje6t  alone 
occupies  our  hearts  and  minds;  and  I  must  hearken  to  the 
imperative  demand  of  the  hour.  Its  lessons  are  weighty  and 
solemn;    and  woe  to   us  if  we  heed  them  not! 

In  the  \txy  hour  of  victory,  while  the  welkin  rang  with  shouts 
of  triumph  and  exultation;  while  we  gloried  in  the  prowess  of 
our  armies  and  navies;  while  we  rejoiced,  and  thanked  God,  that 
our  gigantic  task  was  well-nigh  ended,  —  the  stroke  has  fallen  like 
a  thunderbolt  from  a  cloudless  sky.  The  Ship  of  State  has 
weathered  the   storms    of  mid-ocean,   and   now  approaches   the 


region  of  sunken  reefs  and  tortuous  channels;  the  haven  is  in 
sight:  but  the  danger  was  never  so  great  as  now.  And,  behold! 
in  the  very  hour  when  our  need  of  a  skilled  and  trusty  pilot  is 
most  pressing,  he  is  struck  down  at  the  helm.  Who  is  so  blind 
as  not  to  see  the  peril?  who  so  bold  as  not  to  fear  it?  Rebellion 
will  receive  fresh  life  from  this  its  greatest  triumph;  and,  trusting 
to  gain  by  murder  what  it  has  failed  to  gain  by  war,  will  strain 
every  nerve  to  follow  up  this  terrific  blow  at  the  nation  by 
others  as  terrific.  Lo3'al  men  will  be  so  maddened  and  dis- 
mayed by  an  outrage  to  which  American  history  can  furnish  no 
parallel,  as  perhaps  to  seek  securit}'  from  its  repetition  b}'  dan- 
gerous means.  The  day  has  gone  by  when  the  Chief  Magistrate 
of  the  great  Republic  could  trust  himself  among  the  people. 
Henceforth,  body-guards  and  household  troops  must  attend  his 


Rev.  Francis  E.  Abbot. 


steps;    and,  in  sight  of  a  military  pomp  which  has  hitherto  be- 
longed   solely    to    the    Old    World,   who,   alas!    can    repeat   our 
boast  of  olden  times,  that  the  American   President  is   a  simple 
citizen  ?     And  further,  in  their  exasperation  at  this  cowardly  and 
bloody  deed,  the  people  of  the  North  will  be  tempted,  nay,  have 
been  tempted,  to  take  unlawful  vengeance  on  those  whose  guilty 
sympathy  and  support  are  given  to  its  perpetrators.     Who  does 
not  perceive  that  their  fiendish  crime  has  put  liberty  and  law  in 
greater  jeopardy,  and  struck  a  sharper  blow  at  the  cause  of  our 
country  and  of  humanity,  than  the  murder  of  many  thousands  in 
fair  and  open  battle?     If  we  have  no  place  of  refuge,  if  we  can 
find  no  better  than  human  succor,  our  hearts  may  well  grow  sick 
with  fear  and  anguish.     What  a  friend  we  have  lost!      His  ster- 
ling integrity,  his  high  moral  principle,  his  unselfish  and  unambi- 
tious spirit,  his  simplicity  and  tender-heartedness,  his  pure  and 
patriotic  aims,  and,  above   all,  his   humble  and   childlike  faith   in 
God,  —  these  gave  him  a  hold  on  the  popular  heart,  and  an  influ- 
ence, both  at  home  and  abroad,  which  have  made  him  almost  the 
saviour  of  his   country.     Faults   he   doubtless   had;    mistakes  he 
doubtless   made:    but  the   country  reposed  so   confidingly  on  his 
honesty,    firmness,    and    cautious    judgment,    that    it    now    feels 
stunned  at  its  loss.     Peace  to  thy  ashes,  tried  and  trusty  friend! 
Thou  hast  fought  a  good  fight;  thou  hast  earned  a  rich  reward, — 
praise,  honor,  and  everlasting  love,  from  thy  country;    approba- 
tion, benedi6tion,   and    eternal    life,  from   Almighty    God.      We 
knew  not  how  we  loved  thee,  till  we  found  thee  passed  away  for 
ever.     For  us  hast  thou  toiled;  yea,  for  us  hast  thou  died.     Our 
hearts  are  full  of  sorrow,  and  our  eyes  of  tears:    when  shall  we 
look  upon  thy  like  again?     Peace,  I  say,  —  peace  to  thy  ashes, 
for  evermore! 

I  fear,  my  friends,  that  we   have  leaned  overmuch  upon  this 
great-hearted  and  large-minded  man.     I  find  myself  bewildered 


The  Martyr  of  Liberty. 


by  his  death,  and  asking,  almost  faithlessly,  "Who  can  fill  his 
place  ?  "  And  yet  the  whole  life  of  Abraham  Lincoln  is  a  rebuke 
to  such  doubts  and  fears.  Perhaps  his  strongest  trait  was  a 
childlike  faith  in  the  guidance  of  Almighty  wisdom.  From  that 
bleeding  corpse  in  the  Presidential  Mansion  comes  a  voice  more 
solemn  than  any  of  its  living  words,  a  voice  full  of  encourage- 
ment and  reproof,  "Fear  not;  for  am  I  in  the  place  of  God?" 
The  nation  has  leaned  upon  him,  it  scarcely  knew  how  much, 
and  looked  to  him  to  steer  us  safely  among  the  perilous  rocks  of 
reconstruction.  And  now  that  we  have  lost  our  faithful  helms- 
man, we  are  warned  afresh  to  put  our  trust  where  he  put  his,  — 
in  a  God  of  justice  and  merc3\  The  bullet  of  the  assassin  can- 
not reach  to  the  Almighty's  throne.  The  Lord  .God  omnipotent 
reigneth  for  ever.  No:  great  and  good  as  he  was,  honored, 
trusted,  and  loved  as  he  was,  Abraham  Lincoln  is  not  "  in  the 
place  of  God."  Though  our  perils  are  imminent  and  manifold, 
it  is  weakness  to  be  dismayed,  and  treason  to  despair.  The 
cause  of  our  country  is  the  cause  of  God;  for  he  loves  justice, 
mercy,  and  righteousness  better  than  we,  and  will  raise  up  men 
to  carr}^  out  his  holy  designs.  Did  he  not  summon  him  whom 
w^e  mourn,  out  of  obscurity  and  humble  station,  to  be  the  Moses 
of  our  deliverance,  and  to  guide  his  chosen  people  through  a  Red 
Sea  of  blood?  And,  though  our  leader  has  fallen  before  we  have 
reached  the  Promised  Land  of  peace,  shall  we  not  trust  God  to 
raise  us  up  a  Joshua?  We  dishonor  our  cause  and  our  country, 
our  own  souls,  and  their  Creator,  if  we  give  way  to  the  cowardly 
fears  which  assail  us.  The  very  fa6t,  that  God  has  given  us  a 
Lincoln  in  the  past,  and  a  Grant  in  the  present,  is  a  pledge  that 
the  line  of  our  heroes  and  saviours  shall  not  fail  in  the  future. 
Our  fear  must  pass  away  with  the  first  shock  of  this  tremendous 
crime :  we  must  "  come  to  ourselves,"  and  repossess  our  souls. 
After  the  battle  of  Cannse,  which  cost  Rome  sevent}'  thousand  of 


Rev.  Francis  E.  Abbot. 


her  best  troops,  and  brought  her  to  the  very  brink  of  destruction, 
the  Roman  Senate  voted  public  thanks  to  vEmiHus  Paulus,  the 
commander  of  the  defeated  forces,  "  because  he  had  not  de- 
spaired of  the  Republic."  To-day,  dear  friends,  when  a  great 
prop  and  support  is  stricken  out  from  under  us,  and  a  danger 
more  terrible  than  the  loss  of  an  army  overhangs  us,  America 
calls  upon  her  children  not  to  "  despair  of  the  Republic,"  not  to 
lose  faith  in  God.  On  him,  and  not  on  any  human  strength  or 
wisdom,  depends  our  ultimate  salvation. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  providential  man;  and,  because  I 
most  thoroughly  believe  this,  I  believe,  also,  that  he  lived  to  fulfil 
his  mission.  He  lived  to  vindicate  the  insulted  majesty  of  the 
nation,  and  to  redeem  the  promises  of  his  first  Inaugural  Address. 
He  lived  to  enter  Richmond  in  triumph,  to  behold  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  waving  over  the  rebel  capital,  and  to .  witness  the  de- 
struction of  the  grand  army  of  the  rebellion.  By  his  moral 
greatness,  his  patience,  his  forbearance,  his  pra6tical  wisdom  and 
unselfish  patriotism,  he  has  earned  a  renown  pure  as  that  of  Wash- 
ington, and  will  stand  side  by  side  with  him,  through  all  coming- 
time,  on  the  same  high  pedestal.  I  would  that  his  earthly  re- 
mains might  slumber  in  the  same  august  tomb;  and  that  Mount 
Vernon,  doubly  consecrated  by  the  ashes  of  Washington,  and  by 
the  ashes  of  him  who  alone,  in  the  annals  of  historic  time,  stands 
forth  his  peer,  might  become  the  Mecca  of  the  New  World,  — 
the  shrine  where  millions  of  pilgrims,  through  generations  untold, 
and  from  nations  yet  unborn,  shall  kneel  and  pray,  and  rise  up 
fired  with  the  divinest  inspirations  of  liberty.  The  toil  of  that 
great  soul  is  ended. 

Perhaps  the  day  had  come  when  Abraham  Lincoln  could  no 
longer  serve  the  Republic  he  so  dearly  loved;  perhaps,  by  his 
exceeding  kindness  and  mercy  towards  undeserving  men,  he  was 
about  to  sacrifice  the  vital  interests  of  his  country;    and  perhaps 


The  Martyr  of  Liberty. 


God  suffered  the  long-threatened  and  long-averted  blow  to  fall  at 
last  on  that  beloved  head,  just  in  season  to  prevent  dire  calamity 
to  America,  and  a  lasting  eclipse  to  his  own  pure  fame.  Who 
shall  fathom  the  purposes  of  the  Unsearchable  One  ?  The  great 
work  of  Abraham  Lincoln  is  still  incomplete;  but  his  death  by 
horrid  hands  may  be  the  only  way  to  complete  it.  Of  one  thing 
be  sure,  —  God's  plans  are  never  balked.  The  souls  of  John 
Brown  and  Abraham  Lincoln  in  solemn  fellowship  are  "  march- 
ing on,"  God  himself  at  their  head,  and  millions  of  tramping  feet 
in  their  rear:  the  earth  shakes  with  their  mighty  tread;  and,  be- 
neath the  millstone  of  that  stupendous  march,  slavery,  treason, 
and  rebellion  shall  be  ground  into  impalpable  dust. 

But,  friends,  the  lesson  of  renewed  faith  in  God  is  not  the 
only  one  forced  in  upon  our  minds  by  this  heart-sickening  crime. 
We  need,  and  now  we  see  our  need  written  out  in  letters  of 
blood,  not  only  a  passive  faith  in  God,  but  an  a6tive  obedience  to 
his  w^ill.  Murder  is  a  stern  tutor,  and  sternness  is  the  burden  of 
his  tuition.  The  fiend  of  secession  has  at  last  torn  off  his  mask, 
and,  like  the  Veiled  Prophet  of  Khorassan,  has  revealed  to  the 
outraged  light  of  heaven  a  visage  hideous  with  all  the  ugliness  of 
hell.  Every  misguided  follower  whose  heart  is  honest,  but 
whose  head  is  weak,  must  shrink  back  in  horror  and  affright. 
None  but  devils  in  human  form  will  justify  or  palliate  a  deed 
like  this;  and  to  such  our  reply  must  be  short  and  sharp.  Not 
revenge,  but  self-defence ;  not  vengeance  through  an  irresponsi- 
ble and  lawless  mob,  but  justice  through  courts  of  law.  We 
must  make  it  dangerous  to  dabble  in  treason;  for  we  see  its 
danger.  The  diabolism  of  secession  is  now  patent  to  all;  and,  if 
we  show  it  either  mercy  or  pity,  our  blood  shall  be  upon  our 
own  heads.  In  the  exultation  of  vi6lory,  the  nation  betrayed 
marks  of  a  good-natured  weakness,  of  a  criminal  magnanimity; 
and  God  may  have  suffered  this  appalling  blow  to  strike  us,  to 


Rev.  Francis  E.  Abbot. 


waken  us  to  our  duty,  and  startle  us  into  obedience.  Make  sure 
work  with  treason,  exterminate  rebellion  from  the  land;  give  no 
rebel  the  right  to  vote,  until  his  contrition  is  transparent;  and  if 
the  great  ringleaders  fall  into  our  hands,  as  a  solemn  a6l  of  self- 
prote6tion,  and  as  a  warning  to  all  futurity,  mete  out  to  them  the 
extreme  penalty  of  the  law.  Brand  treason  for  all  coming  time 
with  the  infamy  of  the  gallows.  We  have  no  right  to  trifle  with 
our  great  responsibilities :  we  are  trustees  for  posterity,  and  must 
transmit  to  them  unimpaired  the  noble  heritage  of  freedom. 
"  Heal  not  the  wound  of  the  daughter  of  my  people  slightly." 
The  blood  of  our  martyr  calls  us  afresh,  in  no  ambiguous  lan- 
guage, to  renewed  self-consecration,  courage,  and  fidelity.  Mild 
and  forgiving  to  repentant  prodigals,  we  must  be  stern  and  un- 
compromising to  conquered  rebels.  Leniency  to  traitors  means 
death  to  loyal  men.  Alas  for  us,  if  we  leave  smouldering  embers 
in  our  new  temple  of  liberty  ! 

These,  then,  are  the  lessons  of  the  sad  event  which  has  filled 
our  hearts  with  gloom  and  apprehension,  —  greater  faith  in  God, 
greater  faithfulness  to  freedom.  Bitter  as  is  our  loss,  that  hal- 
lowed blood  will  not  have  flowed  in  vain,  if  we  truly  heed  its 
silent  eloquence.  The  sombre  drapery  of  woe,  which  here,  in 
the  house  of  God,  feebly  typifies  a  grief  too  deep  for  words,  is  but 
a  pompous  hypocrisy,  if  we  follow  not  his  example  for  whom  we 
grieve.  He  may  not  always  have  been  the  first  to  comprehend 
the  great  duty  of  the  hour;  but,  once  comprehended,  he  was 
always  the  first  to  do  it.  Pure  and  tender  of  heart,  wise  and 
firm  in  a6tion,  devout  and  childlike  in  spirit,  —  O  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, thou  hast  died  for  us,  and  our  souls  are  heavy  for  thee  this 
day!  Take  the  love  which  fills  our  hearts,  and  the  tears  which 
fill  our  eyes,  as  our  sole  return  for  thy  sacrifice  of  life.  We  take 
up  the  task  which  drops  from  thy  dying  hand;  and  may  a  double 
portion  of  thy  spirit  rest  upon  us! 

Dover,  N.  H>,  Enquirer,  April  2^,  1865. 


THE    NATIONAL    BEREAVEMENT: 

A    DISCOURSE    DELIVERED    AT    THE    FIRST    CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCH, 
TAUNTON,    MASS.,    ON    SUNDAY    MORNING,    APRIL    1 6,     1S65  ; 

BY    REV.    CHARLES    H.    BRIGHAM, 

PASTOR   OF   THE   CHURCH. 


Lam.  ii.  i  :    "  How  hath  the  Lord  covered  the  daughter  of  Zion  with  a  cloud  in  his  anger, 
and  cast  down  from  heaven  unto  the  earth  the  beauty  of  Israel !  " 

IT  is  a  sad  and  solemn  time  for  our  assembly  to-day.  We 
should  have  remembered,  w^ith  anthem  and  rapture,  the  new 
birth  of  the  spirit  on  the  day  of  the  Saviour's  rising.  We  should 
have  kept  the  double  festival  of  the  resurrection  of  the  great 
Deliverer  and  the  resurrection  of  this  Christian  nation.  But  how 
suddenly  all  our  joy  is  changed  into  woe!  How  terribly  thick 
darkness  has  come  upon  our  exhilaration!  How  God  has  called 
in  this  solemn  day  his  terrors  round  about  us!  In  what  bewilder- 
ment of  soul,  as  men  stunned  and  prostrate,  we  wait  for  the  next 
tidings!  So  short  an  interval,  and  3''et  so  great  a  change!  Where 
arc  we  now?  and  what  shall  become  of  us.'' 

Our  day  of  Fasting  in  the  past  week  was  changed  to  a  day 
of  Thanksgiving :  we  could  not  mourn  when  such  hope  was 
opened,  when  there  was  such  brightness  of  promise,  when  the 
agony  was  over,  and  the  land  seemed  redeemed  and  saved. 
Even  the  ancient  Fast-time  of  the  Christian  Church,  the  memorial 


Rev.  Charles  H.  Bri^/iam. 


day  of  the  Saviours  death,  was  made  this  year  a  holiday  in  the 
land,  as  it  was  chosen  for  the  restoration  of  the  nation's  banner  to 
the  walls  from  which  this  banner  had  been  lowered  in  shame  four 
years  ago.  But  now,  on  this  high  holiday  of  the  Church  and  of 
the  land,  we  keep  our  Fast.  The  whole  loyal  nation  is  in  mourn- 
ing. The  bells  which  rang  out  at  the  opening  of  the  last  week, 
in  every  village  and  hamlet,  from  the  farthest  East  to  the  farthest 
West,  their  festal  peal,  at  the  close  of  the  week  tolled  their  most 
mournful  refrain  for  the  beauty  of  the  land,  slain  upon  its  high 
places.  It  is  a  funeral  service  that  invites  us,  more  melancholy 
than  any  that  has  ever  called  us  together;  and,  with  bowed  heads, 
and  hearts  refusing  to  be  comforted,  we  wait  in  our  places  of 
prayer,  asking  only  help  from  the  Lord,  —  asking  only  that  the 
Father  above  will  show  us  the  light  of  his  countenance. 

What  to  say  now,  —  how  from  this  chaos  of  emotions,  this 
mingling  of  wrath  and  fear,  of  sadness  and  doubt,  of  trembling 
anxiety  and  stern  determination,  of  incredulous  surprise  and 
mournful  conviction,  this  sense  of  the  omnipotence  of  the  all- 
disposing  God,  who  so  strangely  baffles  our  designs,  and  enforces 
the  folly  and  vanity  of  our  mortal  hopes,  —  how  from  this  chaos 
to  draw  so  soon  any  wise  or  sober  thought,  who  shall  know.^ 
Is  it  possible,  is  it  decent,  to  make  a  homily  to-day  out  of  this 
awful  catastrophe  ?  Shall  we  venture  to  insult  this  great  grief  by 
our  cold  moralizing,  or  to  put  it  aside  by  any  auguries  of  the 
future?  Shall  we  forecast  results,  and  arrange  plans,  and  cry 
in  frivolous  haste,  "The  king  is  dead:  long  live  the  king!"  as 
we  turn  from  the  ruler  that  was  to  the  ruler  that  is?  Or  shall  we 
forget  all  composure  of  soul,  and  summon  up  the  spirit  of  rage, 
and  cry,  "  Vengeance,  destruction,  and  death !  "  for  the  deed  of 
blood  that  has  been  done  ?  Shall  the  pulpit  become  this  day  the 
instigator  of  violence,  to  rouse  the  bewildered  souls  of  the  peo- 
ple to  fury?     Not  so  shall  it  be  here.    But  we  will  wait  humbly 

2 


I  o  The  National  Bereavement. 

upon  the  Lord,  and  onl}^  ask  that  he  will  enable  us  to  bear  this 
burden. 

A  great  crime  has  been  committed  in  our  land,  —  a  bloodier 
deed  than  the  nation  ever  knew,  though  the  land  has  in  these  last 
years  in  more  than  metaphor  been  deluged  with  blood.  It  is  a 
crime  against  the  nation,  and  for  it  there  will  be  a  fearful  recom- 
pense. God  grant  that  the  forebodings  of  those  who  see  in  this 
the  beoinnino;  of  a  reio:n  of  terror  may  not  be  realized;  that  the 
ncAV  ruler  may  have  firmness  to  check  all  outbreaks,  and  to 
enforce  the  laws  even  against  popular  fury!  We  need  not  sup- 
press our  horror  at  the  crime.  We  need  not  disguise  our  sense 
of  the  great  danger  which  it  brings  upon  the  land,  even  in  this 
time  when  the  triumph  of  our  arms  seems  assured.  It  may  inspirit 
the  leaders  of  the  rebellion,  and  breathe  life  into  the  dying  em- 
bers. It  may  encourage  the  fallen  traitors  to  lift  their  heads,  and 
make  one  more  struggle ^for  their  desperate  cause.  It  may  reverse 
the  order  so  successfully  brought  in,  and  restore  the  iniquities 
which  seemed  to  be  ruined  and  dead.  We  may  conjure  up  a 
hundred  evils  which  shall  come  from  this  crime.  Yet  it  is  better 
to  look  upon  the  other  side  of  the  pi6lure,  and  see  what  we  have 
to  depend  upon,  where  we  stand,  even  with  this  terror  around  us. 
Our  brave  armies  are  still  in  the  field,  strong,  resolute,  hopeful; 
not  to  be  frightened  by  any  deed  of  an  assassin;  ready  to  follow 
their  leaders,  as  ready  now  as  ever,  against  foul  treason.  We  have 
generals  in  command,  who  have  been  proved  competent,  wisjf, 
faithful,  loyal,  and  who  will  surely  see  to  it  that  the  Republic 
shall  suffer  no  detriment.  Of  the  new  ruler,  whatever  may  be 
his  defe(5ls  in  habit  and  his  lack  in  culture,  no  one  can  doubt  the 
ability  or  the  patriotism.  Unless  he  shall  surround  himself  with 
bad  advisers,  he  cannot  readily  err;  he  cannot  immediately  alter 
the  course  of  things.  The  nation  has  force  enough,  union  enough, 
will  enough,  to  prote6l  itself  against  any  new  outbreaks  of  trea- 


Rev.  Charles  H.  Brigham.  1 1 

son.  The  murder  of  the  ruler  comes  too  late  to  destroy  the 
Government,  too  late  to  create  anarchy  and  confusion,  too  late  to 
restore  the  broken  power  of  slavery,  too  late  to  give  traitors 
success  and  credit.  There  is  no  rival  Government  that  can  be  set 
up  against  this  Government.  The  assassin  has  killed  but  one 
man:  he  has  not  slain  the  nation.  If  he  had  done  his  work  in 
those  years  when  the  traitors  were  encamped  close  to  the  gates 
of  the  capital,,  or  when  their  armies,  flushed  with  vi6tory,  had 
invaded  our  Northern  soil,  or  even  when  the  rival  ruler  had  his 
cabinet  and  his  court,  his  army  and  navy,  it  might  have  brought 
disaster  fearful  to  contemplate.  But  now  it  comes  too  late.  It  is 
a  crime  useless  against  the  life  of  the  nation,  though  it  may  be 
hideous  in  the  passions  it  shall  engender. 

This  crime  will,  nevertheless,  teach  us  several  things,  which 
have  been  often  enough  urged  upon  us,  but  which  many  of  our 
people  are  slow  to  learn.  It  will  teach  all  classes  the  foolishness 
of  attempting  to  conciliate  traitors  by  dealing  gently  with  their 
offences,  and  meeting  them  half-way  when  they  have  come  into 
our  power.  Our  murdered  President,  in  opposition  to  the  advice 
of  many  of  his  wisest  friends,  who  knew  these  Southern  traitors 
and  their  spirit,  who  had  been  their  associates,  was  disposed  to 
treat  them  kindly,  to  overlook  their  crimes,  to  grant  them  am- 
nesty, to  believe  that  they  might  be  won  back  to  honor  and  loy- 
alty. In  a  few  days,  probably,  his  proclamation  would  have  been 
published,  granting  such  easy  terms  as  would  have  amazed  even 
these  men.  It  is  safe  to  say,  that  no  document  of  that  kind  will 
soon  be  issued.  It  is  safe  to  say,  that,  for  the  present  at  least,  there 
will  be  no  more  compromise  with  traitors;  that  there  will  be  no 
favor  shown  either  to  rebels  in  arms,  or  rebels  who  have  been 
forced  to  lay  down  their  arms.  The  traitors  in  our  hands  will 
be  fitly  dealt  with  by  justice  and  the  law,  even  if  they  find  no 
quicker  or  sharper  penalty.     This  a6t  of  violence,  coming  just  at 


1 2  T/ic  National  BcrcavemciiL 

the  time  when  the  leader  of  the  rebel  armies  and  his  companions 
had  been  permitted  virtually  to  go  free,  and  even  allowed  privi- 
leges and  honors, — the  man  and  the  men  who  have  done  more  to 
sustain  the  rebellion  than  any  others,  and  have  upon  them  an 
awful  weight  of  guilt  and  stain  of  blood,  —  will  go  far  to  settle 
the  question,  how  to  deal  with  traitors,  and  what  shall  be  done 
with  them.  The  sentiment  of  the  army,  the  sentiment  of  the 
nation,  will  permit  no  more  trifling.  This  reward  for  clemency 
and  favor,  this  answer  to  kind  dealing  and  pardon,  will  hush,  for 
the  time  at  least,  all  talk  of  amnesty,  and  will  tell  the  leaders  what 
they  have  to  expert,  if  they  fall  into  the  hands  of  men  who  will 
remember  their  crime  instead  of  pit3nng  their  misfortune. 

And  this  crime  will  teach  the  people  by  a  terrible  illustration 
the  spirit  of  slavery,  the  spirit  of  that  form  of  social  life  which  is 
based  upon  the  oppression  of  men  and  the  disregard  of  human 
rights.  Four  years  ago,  this  crime  was  meditated,  but  not  accom- 
plished. The  spirit  of  the  South  then  justified  it;  and  the  man 
who  had  committed  it  would  have  been  a  hero,  would  have  been 
received  and  honored,  as  was  the  ruffian  who  struck  down  our 
Senator  in  his  seat  in  the  Capitol.  Even  now,  the  assassin,  who 
has  done  this  deed  of  blood  would  be  welcomed  with  triumph,  if 
he  could  find  a  place  where  they  dared  so  to  receive  him.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  this  plan  has  all  along  been  designed. 
Think  what  rewards  have  been  offered  in  the  Southern  journals 
for  the  zealot  who  should  do  this  deed!  This  is  the  kind  of  work 
that  suits  the  base,  cunning,  cruel,  and  insolent  spirit  of  slavery. 
It  belongs  to  the  same  class  with  the  scourgings  and  the  brand- 
ings of  women  and  children;  with  the  wanton  murders  of  the 
duel;  with  the  sending  of  emissaries  to  burn  the  hotels  of  great 
cities,  and  destroy  the  lives  of  thousands  of  innocent  men;  with 
the  burning  of  cities  behind  them  by  the  rebel  leaders,  leaving 
thousands   to  wretchedness,  exposure,  and    despair.      All   these 


Rev.  Charles  H.  Brigham.  13 


things  —  this  great  crime,  which  to-day  startles  the  nation  more 
than  any  report  of  a  battle  lost  or  a  city  burned  —  are  the  na- 
tural, the  necessary  issue  of  the  institution  which  blighted  the 
land  so  long,  and  ruled  with  such  arrogance  and  tyranny.  Shall 
we  not  learn  from  it  to  hate  more  heartily  this  infamous  thing? 
Shall  it  not  tell  us  to  cast  out  for  ever,  root  and  branch,  every 
vestige  of  this  curse?  So  long  as  any  tendril  remains  by  which 
this  vine  can  cling  to  our  national  life,  so  long  we  may  expe6l 
such  crime  as  this.  Nothing  can  change  the  nature  of  this  abom- 
ination. It  hesitates  at  no  violence,  no  outrage,  no  insult  to  the 
laws  of  God  and  man.  Let  us,  on  this  new  grave  of  the  chief  of 
the  nation,  with  an  oath  as  solemn  and  as  deep  as  that  of  the 
young  son  of  Hamilcar,  vow  eternal  hostility  to  this  source  of  all 
evil,  in  every  form  and  degree;  that  we  will  have  no  rest  until  it 
is  blotted  out;  that  we  will  have  no  heed  of  any  sign,  promise,  or 
prayer  that  it  may  make !  Reluctantly  our  honest  ruler  brought 
himself  to  the  conviction  that  the  existence  of  human  slavery  was 
incompatible  with  the  safety  of  the  land.  We  see  that  clearl}^ 
now,  in  the  blow  which  has  struck  down  his  life,  and  made  him  a 
martyr.  God  grant  that  this  deed  of  blood  may  write  the  death 
of  slavery  in  letters  red  as  of  blood  all  over  the  land,  —  in  the 
purpose  of  every  resolute  and  patriotic  heart,  in  the  conviction 
and  in  the  determination  of  all  men!  We  will  have  no  more  of 
that  social  order  which  uses  assassination,  and  Is  built  upon  vio- 
lence. We  will  have  no  more  of  that  style  of  life,  which  whips 
women,  and  starves  prisoners,  and  deludes  the  people  to  ruin  by 
specious  falsehoods.  Not  alone,  "  Down  with  the  traitors !  "  shall 
be  our  cry,  but  "  Down  with  the  accursed  thing  which  has 
brought  their  treason !  down  with  the  thing  which  has  made  trea- 
son possible  in  this  free  Republic!"  We  see  now  how  perilous  is 
the  peace  that  shall  come  while  any  life  is  left  to  this  enem}^  of 
our  peace.     Let  us  be  fixed  in  this  resolution,  that  no  shape  or 


14  The  National  Bereavement. 

hold  be  left  to  this  iniquity  in  all  our  land  !  The  spirits  of  our 
martyrs,  in  the  long  array  which  the  battles  of  these  years  have 
gathered,  wait  to  administer  to  the  nation  this  vow.  It  is  to  3^ou 
and  me,  brethren,  to  all  of  us,  to  men  and  to  children.  This 
blood  will  be  upon  our  garments,  if  we  do  not  wipe  off  the  stain 
from  the  nation.  From  every  pulpit  in  the  land  this  day  should 
echo  the  voice,  "No  peace  with  the  wicked;  no  peace  with  that 
which  is  the  source  of  such  wickedness;  no  peace  with  that  which 
destro3's  all  honor;  no  peace  with  that  which  sends  out  midnight 
murderers !  " 

And  if  any  thing  could  complete  that  union  of  men  of  all  par- 
ties in  the  North,  which  was  begun  by  the  assault  four  3'ears  ago 
upon  the  beleaguered  fort  in  the  harbor  of  Charleston,  it  would  be 
such  a  crime  as  this.  There  can  be  only  one  opinion  about  this 
a<5l,  among  all  men  of  fair  minds  and  patriotic  hearts.  There  can 
be  only  one  voice  in  condemnation  of  such  an  a6l,  only  one  feel- 
ing of  horror.  The  journals  most  hostile  to  the  Government  and 
its  policy  will  hasten  to  disavow  this  a6t,  and  will  join  in  the  wish 
that  summary  justice  may  be  done  upon  these  murderers,  upon 
all  who  have  had  any  part  in  this  infamy,  whatever  their  rank  or 
station  or  motive.  If  there  should  be  any  heart  base  enough  to 
approve  such  a  murder,  it  will  not  dare  to  find  a  voice.  Through 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  there  will  be  one  utterance,  as 
there  is  substantially  but  one  feeling.  This  a6t  will  convert  men 
who  were  only  half  converted  before,  will  silence  cavillers,  and 
will  bring  men  of  all  parties  together  in  the  cause  of  the  nation. 
Wranglings  will  cease  before  this  opened  grave:  they  ought  to 
cease  here,  in  such  a  solemn  hour.  Men  will  vie  with  each  other, 
the  most  conservative  with  the  most  radical,  in  the  promptness  of 
their  devotion  to  the  public  welfare.  The  rejoicings  of  this  last 
week  had  seemed  almost  to  obliterate  party  strife:  the  mournings 
of  the  coming  week  will  draw  in  the  few  that  were  still  keeping 


Rev.  C/iarles  H.  Brigham.  15 

themselves  apart.  As,  around  the  private  bier,  relatives  and 
friends  meet,  forgetting  their  personal  offences  in  the  fellowship 
of  grief;  so,  around  this  public  bier,  all  difterences  w^ill  be  forgot- 
ten in  the  sense  of  a  common  calamity.  No  Ishmael  will  utter 
his  hatred  in  the  household  of  mourning  Isaac.  Those  who  had 
never  praised  before  will  take  up  the  lament,  and  will  claim  part 
in  the  burial.  If  such  an  occasion  as  this  cannot  silence  strife, 
and  bring  men  to  be  of  one  voice  and  heart,  certainly  nothing 
can. 

And  now  full  justice  will  be  done  to  that  noble  man,  the  chief 
victim  of  this  outrage,  who  has  been  so  long  the  mark  for  abuse, 
detraction,  and  falsehood,  but  in  whom  the  heart  of  this  nation 
recognized  a  providential  leader.  Now  that  he  is  done  to  death 
by  wicked  hands,  with  one  heart  and  one  voice  all  will  rise  up 
to  say,  that  here  was  a  sincere,  a  wise",  an  honest,  a  just,  a  God- 
fearing man.  They  will  tell,  that  he  loved  mercy  better  than 
power;  that  he  loved  his  country  better  than  his  own  fame  or 
interest;  how  beneath  this  careless  manner  there  was  a  grave 
and  serious  heart;  how  on  this  plain  brow  and  ungainly  frame 
there  sat  the  dignity  of  a  true  manhood.  Every  event  in  his  life, 
from  its  early  struggles  to  its  crowning  martyrdom,  will  unveil  its 
significance.  They  will  tell  how  this  Caesar  was  assassinated,  not 
because  he  had  destroyed,  but  because  he  had  defended,  the  Re- 
public; not  because  he  had  suppressed,  but  because  he  had  vindi- 
cated, liberty;  not  as  he  was  gathering  new  armies  to  enlarge  his 
tyranny  and  triumph,  but  as  he  was  about  to  disband  and  seitd 
home  the  armies  that  had  done  their  work  of  saving  the  State. 
We  shall  now  see  that  this  plain  man  of  the  West,  of  unknown 
lineage,  with  no  gifts  of  birth  or  eloquence  or  fortune,  coming  to 
the  chair  of  State  with  no  experience  of  its  duties,  has  proved 
himself  the  man  of  all  men  to  save  the  State;  a  better  man  than 
any  scholar,  orator,  or  martial  leader  would  have  been;   a  second 


1 6  TJic  National  Bereavement. 

Washington,  entitled  as  truly  as  the  first  to  the  name  of  "  Father 
of  his  Country."  Violating  no  law,  assuming  hastily  no  preroga- 
tive of  place,  hesitating  long  before  taking  any  decisive  step,  he 
has  yet  brought  this  nation  through  the  chasm  of  its  fate,  and 
landed  it  on  the  hither  shore  of  freedom,  of  union,  and  of  peace. 
No  great  crime  dishonors  his  use  of  the  trust  which  the  people 
gave  to  him,  and  which  they  repeated  with  such  cheerful  consent 
after  his  work  had  been  tried  as  by  fire.  His  errors  have  been  on 
the  side  of  kindness,  of  humanity;  have  come  from  his  generous 
heart  and  from  his  trust  in  men.  The  worst  complaint  of  him 
has  been,  that  he  had  too  much  pity  for  the  stern  duties  of  com- 
mand; that  he  could  forgive  so  readily,  and  was  so  prone  to 
compassion.  Yet,  with  all  this  tender  heart,  he  has  taken  no  step 
backward;  has  recalled  no  promise;  has  been  driven  neither  by 
threats,  nor  w^on  by  entreaties,  to  break  an}^  pledge  to  the  people. 
No  ruler  of  any  people  ever  had  a  harder  task;  harder  in  its  mag- 
nitude, its  obstacles,  its  complex  variety,  the  momentous  results 
depending  upon  it,  its  infinite  troubles  and  embarrassments,  "fight- 
ings without  and  fears  within,"  false  friends,  weak  advisers,  in- 
competent instruments.  Who  shall  measure  such  a  task?  Yet 
history  will  say  he  did  the  task  faithfully  and  well,  —  history  will 
say  that  here  was  a  successful  as  well  as  a  faithful  ruler.  The 
most  glorious  as  well  as  the  most  crowded  years  in  all  our  an- 
nals will  be  the  four  years  in  which  the  hand  of  this  ruler  guided 
the  helm  of  the   State. 

"  That  simple  name.  El  Khalll^  the  Frmid.,  by  which  the  Arabs 
designate  the  first  of  the  Patriarchs,  is  a  true  designation  for 
this  our  ruler  who  bore  that  Hebrew  name.  He  was  indeed  the 
friend^  —  the  friend  of  his  companions,  the  friend  of  the  people, 
and  the  friend  of  God,  as  James  sa3'S  the  first  Abraham  was 
called.  In  all  his  administrations,  in  all  his  messages  and  letters, 
in  his  declarations  so  often  repeated,  and  in  the  steady  tone  of 


Rev.  Charles  H.  Brio- ham'  17 


i> 


his  discourse,  there  is  the  pious  sense  always  appearing  of  depen- 
dence upon  the  heavenly  Friend.  How  strangely  prophetic  now 
appears  that  inaugural  word,  spoken  only  a  few  weeks  ago,  on  that 
lowering  day,  in  front  of  the  Capitol  (sad  augury  of  woe  soon  to 
come),  —  no  hint  there  of  any  course  that  he  should  pursue;  no 
policy  marked  out  for  the  coming  years:  but  only  an  expression 
of  trust  in  the  Lord;  only  a  vision  of  the  Great  Head  of  all  Com- 
mon\^ealths,  of  the  judgments  of  God,  of  God  leading  the  peo- 
ple,—  "Whatsoever  He  wills  to  do,  let  his  will  be  done"!  This 
was  a  religious  man,  a  religious  ruler.  That  kindness  of  soul  was 
stayed  upon  a  principle  of  faith.  That  seeming  weakness  of  will 
was  supported  by  the  invisible  arm.  The  trembling  magistrate 
leaned  upon  God;  and,  when  others  seemed  to  see  an  unsteady 
purpose,  he  felt  beneath  him  the  divine  succor,  and  was  strong  in 
that  uplifting.  No  place  more  proper  to  honor  his  name  and  to 
tell  his  worth  than  the  house  of  God,  to  which  his  summons  has 
so  often  called  the  worshippers  in  these  years  of  trial.  Again 
and  again  he  has  asked  us  to  pra}^  for  the  nation,  and  for  the 
rulers  of  the  nation;  and  has  been  quickened  in  the  blessing  of 
these  united  prayers.  Perhaps  the  last  work  of  his  hand  may 
have  been  a  call  of  the  nation  to  thanksgiving  and  praise;  to  ren- 
der thanks  in  their  san6luaries  to  that  Disposer  of  events,  that 
God  of  battles,  who  has  guided  the  instruments  of  his  will  below, 
and  whose  right  hand  and  whose  holy  arm,  more  than  any  coun- 
sel or  work  of  men,  have  gotten  us  the  vi6lory. 

That  so  good  and  pure  a  man,  so  worthy  of  the  love  and  honor 
of  the  nation,  should  have  been  taken  from  us  in  such  a  way,  im- 
mensely deepens  the  great  lament  in  the  land.  We  mourn  not 
chiefly  for  the  lost  ruler,  taken  at  so  critical  a  time  of  public 
affairs;  but  more  for  the  upright,  noble,  and  patriotic  man,  whose 
large  heart  had  endeared  him  to  the  people  as  no  ruler  since  the 
first  has  been  endeared.     This  was  the  people's  President,  not  by 

3 


I  (S  The  National  Bereavement. 

any  qualities  of  high  genius,  of  various  gifts,  of  commanding  will; 
not  as  the  great  philosopher  who  wrote  the  Declaration  of  our 
Freedom,  or  as  the  inflexible  general  who  called  the  Eternal  One 
to  witness  that  the  Constitution  should  not  be  nullitied  or  im- 
paired,—  but  as  the  man  whom  the  people  believed  in  as  one 
who  would  not  deceive  them,  who  would  not  oppress  them,  who 
would  not  betray  them.  He  loved  those  even  who  hated  him, 
better  than  the  ambitious  leaders  who  drew  them  astra}^  He  was 
a  truer  friend  to  the  men  who  fought  against  his  rule,  than  the 
haughty  lords  of  the  lash,  who  used  these  poor  millions  only  as 
the  tools  of  their  pride  and  their  will.  And  he  died  really  as  the 
Saviour  died,  —  on  the  very  anniversary,  too,  of  the  Saviour's  death, 
and  by  a  crime  hardly  less  revolting,  —  with  a  prayer  in  his  heart 
for  his  enemies.  What  have  the  last  a6ts  of  this  our  ruler  been, 
but  a  comment  upon  that  dying  word  of  Jesus,  "  Father,  forgive 
them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do  "?  Well  may  we  borrow 
the  words  of  one  of  our  eminent  men,  and  call  the  ruler  who  has 
so  died,  in  a  double  sense,  "  the  Saviour  of  his  country." 

Nor  may  we  omit  to  speak  of  the  other  eminent  intended  vic- 
tim of  this  horrid  conspiracy,  who  has  stood  by  the  side  of  his 
chief,  in  these  four  years  of  trying  difficulty,  to  cheer  by  his  hope- 
fulness, to  advise  from  his  knowledge  of  public  affairs,  and  to 
perform  all  the  office  of  a  ready  friend.  How  well  the  former 
rival  gave  up  disappointment  and  vexation,  to  do  his  part  in  this 
crisis  of  the  nation!  W^ith  what  moderation  and  what  skill  he 
has  managed  those  relations  of  the  nation  in  foreign  lands!  saving 
us  from  added  war;  magnanimously  confessing  errors,  and  making 
restitution,  yet  always  upholding  the  country's  dignit}^;  drying  to 
oppose  popular  clamor,  rather  than  risk  the  safety  of  the  nation, 
and  the  success  of  its  efforts  to  quench  the  fires  of  rebellion! 
That  the  land  is  saved,  is  owing  in  no  small  degree  to  the  wisdom 
and  patriotism  of  this  optimist,  as  we  have  believed   him.     His 


Rev.  Charles  H.  Brigham.  19 

sanguine  heart  has  only  helped  to  keep  up  the  faith  of  the  people, 
but  has  not  driven  him  into  any  errors  of  folly  or  rashness.  He, 
too,  whether  he  live  or  die,  will  have  an  honorable  record,  — hon- 
orable, not  only  in  the  story  of  long,  various,  and  distinguished 
services  in  so  many  public  charges,  for  more  than  a  generation; 
not  only  in  the  ability  of  his  statesmanship,  and  the  success  of  his 
diplomacy:  but  honorable  as  he  has  lived  down  calumnies,  vindi- 
cated his  prophecies,  and  won  to  himself  the  applause  of  enemies. 
This  man,  too,  the  country  cannot  afford  to  spare.  Who  shall 
stand  in  his  place? 

A  great  sorrow  indeed  has  come  upon  us  in  these  outrages; 
and  it  almost  seems  that  these  bright  skies,  this  cheerful  sunshine, 
these  songs  of  birds  to-day,  insult  our  grief.  We  would  have  the 
heavens  hung  with  black,  as  we  have  draped  the  doors  of  our 
houses  and  the  walls  of  our  churches.  But,  after  all,  is  it  not  bet- 
ter to  take  the  omen  of  the  sunshine  than  to  brood  upon  our  grief 
and  its  emblems  ?  We  may  be  glad,  that,  heavy  as  our  loss  is,  it 
is  no  worse;  that,  successful  as  this  great  crime  has  been,  it  was 
not  more  successful.  Other  victims  were  aimed  at;  and,  if  all  the 
work  had  been  done,  we  should  have  been  left  without  a  head  for 
our  armies,  and  almost  without  a  Government.  The  crime  has 
defeated  its  own  ends.  It  will  recoil  upon  those  who  have  ex- 
pe6ted  to  profit  by  it.  This  crowning  wickedness  is  only  the  last 
of  that  series  of  follies  by  which  Providence  has  blinded  insane 
men  here  to  their  destru6lion.  It  cannot  hinder  the  triumph  of 
the  righteous  cause.  Not  falsely  was  the  vision  given  to  our  mar- 
tyr, - —  the  vision  of  freedom  established,  and  a  country  saved. 
Not  in  vain  has  been  his  service.  Not  too  early  did  the  good  man 
die,  for  the  fruition  of  his  hopes  and  his  labors.  Our  illumination 
has  been  changed  to  cloud,  our  thanksgiving  to  lamenting;  and 
the  voice  of  wailing  is  heard  in  the  land.  But  there  is  no  voice 
of  despair:  the  blackness  is  not  that  of  a  cavern  or  of  night,  but 


20 


The  National  Bereavetneni. 


only  of  a  cloud  in  the  sky:  the  lament  is  not  a  wail,  —  not  the  thre- 
nody of  those  who  see  no  future;  but  is  rather  a  requiem  for  the 
dead,  the  minor  chord  which  goes  in  the  funeral  march  before  the 
full  note  of  triumph.  The  land  is  safe,  for  God  is  its  ruler.  He 
leads  us  to  deliverance.  We  will  not  trust  in  any  arm  of  flesh, 
which  may  be  broken;  but  we  will  trust  in  the  living  God,  who 
hath  led  us  hitherto.  We  will  go  on  in  the  strength  of  this  con- 
vi6lion,  that,  if  we  are  constant  in  his  righteousness,  he  will  give 
the  answer  to  our  pra\'er,  —  will  give  peace,  prosperity,  plenty, 
a  goodlier  union,  and  a  more  glorious  future. 


THE    MURDER    OF    PRESIDENT    LINCOLN: 


AN     ADDRESS     SPOKEN     AT     A     MEMORIAL     SERVICE     IN     THE    CHURCH    OF     THE 
MESSIAH,    MONTREAL,    ON    SUNDAY    EVENING,    APRIL    23,    1S65  ; 


BY  REV.  JOHN  CORDNER. 


T 


HE  lessons  we  have  read  this  evening  are  those  of  the  ser- 
vice for  the  burial  of  the  dead.  "  Lord,  make  me  to  know 
mine  end,  and  the  measure  of  my  days,  what  it  is;  that  I  may 
know  how  frail  I  am." — '^  Lord,  thou  hast  been  my  dwelling-place 
in  all  generations."  The  solemn  strain  of  these  grand  old  psalms 
has  swept  the  chord  of  human  hearts  throughout  the  Hebrew 
and  Christian  ages.  And  they  are  fresh  and  strong  to-day  as 
when  Moses  wrote  and  David  sang.  "  Now  is  Christ  risen  from 
the  dead,  and  become  the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept.  .  .  .  As 
we  have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthly,  we  shall  also  bear  the 
image  of  the  heavenly.  .  .  .  Thanks  be  to  God,  who  giveth  us 
the  vi6lory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  This  is  the  jubilant 
utterance  of  the  great  apostle,  with  mind  illuminated  by  the  new 
light  which  Christ  brought  from  on  high.  And  when  the  darkest 
shadows  of  death  are  proje6ted  upon  our  path,  this  light  gives 
consolation,  hope,  joy. 

Our  present  memorial  service  is  but  a  single  refrain   of  the 
wide-spread  expression  of  grief  which  the  past  week  witnessed  on 


2  2  The  ]\Tu7'dcr  of  President  Lincoln. 

this  continent.  On  Wednesday  last,  a  funeral  took  place  in 
Washington,  which  closed  the  law-courts,  banks,  and  places  of 
business  in  this  chief  city  of  British  America;  invested  our  streets 
with  subdued  silence;  called  out  visible  tokens  of  mourning;  and 
opened  halls  and  churches,  where  words  of  sorrow  and  sympathy 
might  find  utterance.  All  this  was  spontaneous.  It  was  the 
spontaneous  "  tribute  of  respe6t  (I  quote  here  from  our  mayor's 
proclamation)  to  the  memory  of  the  late  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  S3^mpathy  with  the  bereaved  members  of  his  family; 
and  an  expression  of  the  deep  sorrow  and  horror  felt  by  the  citi- 
zens of  Montreal,  at  the  atrocious  crime  by  which  the  President 
came  to  an  untimely  death."  A  great  crime  had  been  committed, 
which  moved  the  common  human  heart  of  this  continent  to  great 
horror,  and  great  sorrow  and  great  sympathy  for  those  more  im- 
mediately affli6led. 

On  the  evening  of  Good-Friday,  —  the  anniversar}^  of  our 
Lord's  crucifixion,  —  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  was  mortally  shot  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin. 
This  deed  will  stand  throughout  historic  time  as  one  of  the  dark 
and  tragic  events  of  history;  signal  and  memorable  as  indicating 
to  what  enormity  of  crime  defeated  hate  and  rage  will  drive  men. 
The  mode  of  the  murder  was  deliberate  and  characteristic.  All 
in  front  of  the  private  box  where  the  President  w^as  seated  with 
his  wife  and  friends,  —  all  in  front  w^as  light  and  publicity.  A 
large  concourse  of  people  was  there,  drawn  by  the  expectation  of 
seeing  their  beloved  Chief  Magistrate,  who,  on  his  part,  w^ent  at 
personal  inconvenience,  lest  the  people  should  be  disappointed  by 
his  absence.  The  flaming  jets  of  gas  shed  the  brilliancy  of  their 
light  upon  the  assemblage.  In  contrast  with  this,  the  passage  in 
rear  of  the  box  was  all  darkness  and  secrecy.  There  prowled 
the  assassin  marking  his  vi6tim.  Lock  and  door  had  been  pre- 
viously tampered  with,  to  facilitate  the   horrid   purpose   on   hand. 


Rev.  yohn  Cordner.  2^ 


And  when  the  moment  came  for  the  dreadful  deed  to  be  done, 
—  standing  in  the  darkness  behind  his  vi6tim,  —  the  murderer 
fired  the  fatal  shot.  The  bullet  lodged  in  the  President's  brain, 
and  instantly  deprived  him  of  conscious  existence.  The  physical 
mechanism  of  the  strong  frame  maintained  its  action  some  hours 
longer;  but,  before  eight  o'clock  next  morning,  heart  and  lungs 
had  ceased  all  fun6lion.  The  earthly  life  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
had  closed  for  ever. 

This  murder,  in  the  method  of  its  accomplishment,  is  some- 
what symbolic  of  the  attempt  made  four  3^ears  ago  on  the  life  of 
the  nation.  That  attempt  broke  the  peace  and  disturbed  the 
order  of  this  hitherto  peaceful,  industrious,  and  prosperous  conti- 
nent. The  same  evil  influence  which  moved  to  that  attempt, 
pulled  the  trigger  behind  President  Lincoln's  head,  and  lodged 
the  bullet  in  his  brain.  If  the  head  of  Qiieen  Vi6toria  stood  in  the 
way  of  the  accomplishment  of  its  purposes,  it  would  share  a  like 
fate,  if  a  like  opportunity  offered.  The  spirit  of  the  slave  power 
brooks  no  opposition.  Habituated  to  the  exercise  of  arbitrary 
rule,  it  chafes  at  the  moral  and  constitutional  restraints  of  a  free, 
political,  and  social  order.  Hence  its  armed  revolt  against  the 
pre-existing  peaceful  political  order  four  3'ears  ago,  as  soon  as  the 
result  of  the  election  declared  that  it  should  no  longer  dominate 
the  national  affairs  with  a  view  to  its  own  extension.  The  Con- 
stitution guaranteed  its  sway  within  existing  limits,  unmolested 
by  interference  from  without.  Dissatisfied  with  this,  it  sought 
extension  into  territories  hitherto  free,  and  untainted  by  slave- 
holding  institutions.  The  slave  power,  be  it  still  borne  in  mind, 
revolted  against  the  result  of  an  ele6lion  in  which  itself  took 
a(?tive  part.  In  the  prescribed  constitutional  way,  the  nation  de- 
cided against  the  territorial  extension  of  slavery  by  the  ele6lion  of 
Mr.  Lincoln;  and,  from  the  hour  this  decision  was  first  made 
known,  the  slave  power  conspired  against  the  national  existence. 


2  4  The  Murder  of  President  Lincoln. 


After  the  manner  of  the  assassin,  it  worked  in  secrecy  and  the 
dark.  t)isregarding  the  sacred  obhgations  involved  in  high  na- 
tional trusts,  it  made  use  of  its  official  opportunities  to  destroy 
the  nationality  it  had  undertaken  to  serve.  By  stealthy  distribu- 
tion of  the  military  stores  and  naval  resources  of  the  nation,  the 
slaveholders  then  in  offices  of  high  trust  crippled  its  power  for 
self-proteftion.  By  various  intrigue  abroad,  the  slave  power  mis- 
represented the  a6lual  issue  at  stake,  and  involved  foreign  opin- 
ion in  one  of  the  most  stupendous  political  delusions  of  modern 
times.  After  such  manner  did  it  work,  in  secrecy  and  the  dark; 
and  by  strategem  and  device  sought  to  make  sure  the  blow  it  was 
preparing  to  strike  at  the  national  life. 

Sic  semper  tyrannis  —  thus  ma}'  it  always  be  with  t}'rants  — 
were  the  words  of  the  assassin  of  President  Lincoln.  Sic  semper 
tyrannis^  —  this  is  the  motto  of  the  State  of  Virginia.  All  honor 
to  Virginia,  oldest  of  the  States,  mother  of  many  Presidents  and 
illustrious  men!  All  honor  to  Virginia,  for  the  wisdom  and  ex- 
cellence she  has  given  to  the  world  in  so  many  of  her  sons! 
Within  her  borders,  Virginia  has  the  elements  of  enduring  great- 
ness; but  conjoined  with  these  she  had  the  one  element  of  social 
and  political  blight,  —  I  mean  the  institution  of  slavery.  Conta6t 
with  this  institution  inevitably  obscures  the  moral  perceptions, 
and  induces  a  strange  inversion  of  the  moral  order.  Evil  is  put 
for  good,  and  good  for  evil;  bitter  for  sweet,  and  sweet  for  bitter; 
slavery  for  liberty,  and  liberty  for  slavery.  Only  on  this  ground 
can  we  account  for  the  use  of  the  motto  in  this  case.  If  the  irre- 
sponsible control  of  man  over  man  is  not  of  the  nature  of  tyranny, 
I  know  not  what  is.  If  the  deprivation  of  man  of  his  natural 
rights,  —  his  right  is  his  own  person,  to  the  fruits  of  his  skill  and 
toil,  and  to  the  sacred  privileges  of  domestic  life,  —  if  the  a6tual 
deprivation  of  these  rights,  through  the  irresponsible  a6t  of 
another,  is  not  actual  tyranny,  I  know  not  what  is.     But  the  insti- 


Rev.  yohn  Cordner.  25 


tutlon  of  slavery  legitimates  all  this,  —  so  far  as  its  code  can  legiti- 
mate any  thing.  This  motto,  Sic  semper  tyrannis,  floating  over 
the  Capitol  at  Richmond,  and  over  the  slave-breeding  farms  and 
slave-au6lion  marts  of  Virginia,  if  understood  in  its  true  import, 
ought  to  have  struck  awe  to  the  heart  of  every  slave-trader  and 
slave-owner.  But  its  import  was  not  discerned.  Its  significance 
was  obscured  through  the  distorting  moral  influence  of  slavery. 
Hence  comes  its  utterance  from  the  lips  of  the  assassin  who,  from 
the  darkness  behind,  fired  that  deadly  ball  into  the  brain  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln,  the  emancipator  from  bondage  of  four  millions  of 
human  beino^s. 

The  assassination  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  a  thought  born  of 
last  week  or  last  month.  It  was  plotted  from  the  beginning  of  the 
insurre6tion,  more  than  four  years  ago.  It  will  be  remembered, 
that,  after  much  persuasion,  he  was  induced,  by  friends  who  had 
taken  pains  in  gathering  undoubted  information  concerning  the 
plot,  to  change  his  plan  and  time  for  proceeding  to  Washington 
for  his  first  inauguration.  His  friends  had  obtained  possession  of 
fa6ls  relating  to  a  plot  for  assassination,  and  they  would  be  satis- 
fied with  nothing  short  of  a  private  night-journey  in  advance  of 
the  public  journey  proposed.  He  yielded  in  this  matter  to  the 
most  urgent  solicitation  of  friends;  and  thus,  in  all  probability, 
prevented  the  conspirators  from  accomplishing  their  deadly  pur- 
pose at  that  time.  He  yielded;  but  would  on  no  account  consent 
to  go,  until  he  had  fulfilled  two  public  engagements  on  the  next 
day,  —  both  of  which  he  averred  he  would  keep,  though  it  should 
cost  him  his  life.  It  was  on  one  of  these  occasions,  —  at  the  rais- 
ing of  the  national  flag  at  Independence  Hall,  Philadelphia,  on 
Washington's  birthday,  —  that  \it  uttered  these  memorable  words: 
"  If  this  country  cannot  be  saved  without  giving  up  the  principle 
involved  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  /  would  rather  be 
assassinated  oil  the  spot  than  surrender  itP     Thus  spake  Abraham 

4 


2  6  The  Murder  of  President  L  incoln. 

Lincoln  in  the  month  of  February  of  the  3'ear  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-one. 

The  statements  made  at  the  time,  and  preserved  still  as  record 
of  histor}',  inform  us  that  the  '"'"  character  and  pursuits  of  the  con- 
spirators were  various.  Some  of  them  were  impelled  by  a  fanati- 
cal zeal,  which  they  term  'patriotism;'  and  they  justified  their  a6ls 
by  the  example  of  Brutus,  in  ridding  his  country  of  a  tyrant. 
One  of  them  was  accustomed  to  recite  passages,  put  into  the 
mouth  of  the  character  of  Brutus,  in  Shakspeare's  play  of  ^Julius 
Caesar;'  others  were  stimulated  by  the  hope  of  pecuniary  reward." 
Again,  it  was  stated  that  "  the  list  of  the  names  of  the  conspira- 
tors presented  a  most  astonishing  array  of  persons  high  in  South- 
ern confidence,  and  some  whose  fame  is  not  confined  to  this 
country  alone.  Statesmen  laid  the  plan,  bankers  indorsed  it,  and 
adventurers  were  to  carry  it  into  efie(5f.  They  understood  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  to  leave  Harrisburg  at  nine  o'clock  by  special  train; 
and  the  idea  was,  if  possible,  to  throw  the  cars  from  the  road  at 
some  point  where  they  would  rush  down  a  steep  embankment, 
and  destroy  in  a  moment  the  lives  of  all  on  board.  In  case  of 
the  failure  of  this  proje6l,  their  plan  was  to  surround  the  carriage 
on  the  way  from  depot  to  depot  in  Baltimore,  and  assassinate  him 
with  dagger  or  pistol-shot,"  * 

Subsequently  an  advertisement  appeared  at  the  South,  making 
fervent  appeal  to  slaveholding  States  to  advance  a  large  sum  of 
money  to  promote  the  "patriotic  purpose"  —  this  was  the  term 
used  —  of  "reaching"  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the 
Vice-President,  and  Secretary  of  State,  and  destroying  their  lives. 
I  do  not  say  that  all  the  men  of  the  South  san6tioned  such  plots, 
or  approved  of  such  proposals.  God  forbid!  I  am  confident 
there  are  multitudes  of  men  there  who  would  recoil  from  them  in 

*  Sec  Rebellion  Record,  1860-61,  Doc.  38. 


Rev.  John  Cordner.  27 


horror.  But  the  secret  plot  and  the  pubHshed  appeal  were  both 
the  product  of  a  state  of  society  familiarized  with  violence  and 
disreo^ard  of  human  life  throujyh  familiarity  with  slave  institutions. 
The  a6ts  of  Preston  Brooks  and  Wilkes  Booth  were  inspired  by 
the  same  social  and  political  ideas. 

The  dreadful  purpose,  then,  of  assassinating  Mr.  Lincoln,  has 
borne  more  than  a  four  years'  waiting.  And  now,  in  its  aftual 
execution,  it  has  horrified  the  world.  Four  years  ago,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln was,  comparatively,  an  untried  man,  —  untried,  I  mean,  in 
the  great  responsibilities  which  devolved  upon  him  as  President 
of  the  United  States,  during  the  most  critical  period  in  the  history 
of  the  country.  The  weight  of  those  responsibilities  we  can  but 
dimly  understand.  How  they  pressed  by  night  and  by  day,  amid 
the  divided  councils  of  friends  and  the  constant  obloquy  of  ene- 
mies, we  can  but  poorly  imagine.  Amid  the  varying  fortunes  of 
the  four  years'  war,  and  the  complications  of  foreign  diplomacy, 
this  hitherto  untried  man  met  the  daily  exigencies  of  the  occasion 
in  such  manner  as  to  strengthen  general  confidence  in  him  from 
day  to  day,  and  from  year  to  year.  The  secret  of  his  success  lay 
in  the  simplicity  and  sincerity  of  his  purpose.  The  honesty  of 
his  intention  was  so  clear,  that  it  could  not  be  even  suspected. 
And  this  honesty  of  purpose  was  sustained  by  a  pra61ical  sagacity 
truly  wonderful.  His  integrity  and  wisdom,  rooted  and  grounded 
as  they  were  in  a  generous  nature,  quickened  and  moved  by  re- 
ligious faith,  supported  and  dire6ted  Mr.  Lincoln  throughout  his 
whole  administration  of  public  affairs,  and  won  for  him  that 
always  increasing  confidence  which  resulted  so  decisively  in  his 
second  ele6lion.  His  predominating  qualities  of  chara6ler  desig- 
nated him  as  the  providentially  appointed  man  for  the  time.  He 
was  a  self-made  man,  as  the  phrase  goes.  His  name  indicates 
his  English  ancestry;  and  his  great  perseverance  and  practical 
qualities  of  character  indicate  fidelity  to  his  Anglo-Saxon  lineage. 


2  8  The  Mnrder  of  President  Lincoln. 

One  of  the  most  critical  problems  to  be  solved  in  his  presidential 
career  related  to  the  enslaved  men  at  the  South,  and  the  treatment 
thereof.  As  Abraham  Lincoln,  his  honest  instin6ls  would  strike 
the  fetters  from  the  slave.  As  President  of  the  United  States,  he 
was  restrained  by  constitutional  limitations.  For  these  limitations 
he  had  a  due  regard,  as  he  was  bound  to  have;  but  as  from  time 
to  time  they  became  clearly  weakened  and  broken,  in  law  and 
fa6l,  by  insurgent  a6lion,  then  the  honest  instin6ls  of  the  man 
found  their  justifiable  expression  in  the  a6ls  of  the  President,  who 
was  alwa3's  ready  to  give  the  slave  the  benefit  of  the  breach. 
Step  by  step,  with  an  honest  and  pure  wisdom,  he  walked  the 
straight  and  trying  path  of  emancipation.  And  one  thing  spe- 
cially noteworthy  here  is,  that  he  never  took  a  backward  step  on 
this  path.  New  circumstances  might  arise,  out  of  w^hich  a  cry 
would  come  to  reverse  the  order  and  withdraw  the  promise.  In 
such  cases  President  Lincoln  had  only  one  answer,  and  that  was 
an  emphatic  refusal.  His  w^ord  was,  that  no  slave  set  free  in  the 
inevitable  progress  of  events,  by  authority  of  the  United  States, 
should  ever  be  returned  to  bondage.  His  maxim  was,  "  In  giv- 
ing freedom  to  the  slave,  we  assure  freedom  to  the  free."  No 
man  deplored  the  war  more  than  he.  But  the  a6lion  of  the  slave- 
holding  States  in  challenging  arbitrament  by  the  sword  left  him 
without  choice  in  the  matter.  If  defeat  in  a  fair  ele6lion  justifies 
armed  revolt  by  the  defeated  party,  then  there  is  clearly  an  end  to 
all  political  order  on  this  continent.  If  any  question  of  abstract 
right  is  raised,  whether  in  relation  to  the  individual  or  the  State, 
and  if  one  party  in  the  matter  challenges  the  arbitrament  of  the 
sword  in  advance  of  discussion  in  the  constitutional  assemblies 
and  tribunals  of  the  land,  then  there  is  nothing  left  for  the  other 
party  but  to  accept  the  challenge,  and  allow  the  sword  to  settle 
the  question.  President  Lincoln's  heart  was  for  peace,  —  for 
peace  on  a  permanent  basis.     But,  like  all  thoughtful  observers. 


Rev,  yohn  Cordner.  29 


he  saw  that  no  permanent  peace  could  be  had  while  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  remained.  His  second  inaugural  address  is  a 
faithful  transcript  of  himself  It  contains  no  shadow  of  boasting, 
no  personal  reference,  no  vanity  of  predi6lion.  It  is  the  writing 
of  one  who  felt  himself  as  in  the  hollow  of  God's  hand,  to  be 
used  for  God's  purposes.  It  is  eminently  solemn  and  humane, 
tender  and  trustful.     Here  are  the  two  closing  paragraphs : 

"  Both  parties  to  the  war  read  the  same  Bible  and  pray  to  the 
same  God,  and  each  invokes  his  aid  against  the  other.  It  may 
seem  strange  that  any  man  should  dare  to  ask  a  just  God's  assist- 
ance in  wringing  their  bread  from  the  sweat  of  other  men's  faces; 
but  let  us  judge  not,  that  we  be  not  judged.  The  pra3'ers  of  both 
could  not  be  answered.  That  of  neither  has  been  answered  fully. 
The  Almighty  has  his  own  purposes.  ^  Woe  unto  the  world  be- 
cause of  offences,  for  it  must  needs  be  thaf  offences  come;  but 
woe  to  that  man  by  whom  the  offence  cometh.'  If  we  shall  sup- 
pose that  American  slavery  is  one  of  these  offences,  which  in  the 
providence  of  God  must  needs  come,  but  which,  having  continued 
through  his  appointed  time,  he  now  wills  to  remove,  and  that  he 
gives  to  both  North  and  South  this  terrible  war,  as  the  woes  due 
to  those  by  whom  the  offence  came,  shall  we  discern  therein  any 
departure  from  those  divine  attributes  which  the  believers  in  a 
living  God  always  ascribe  to  him?  Fondly  do  we  hope,  fer- 
vently do  we  pray,  that  this  mighty  scourge  of  war  may  soon  pass 
away.  Yet  if  God  wills  that  it  continue,  until  all  the  wealth 
piled  by  the  bondman's  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  unrequited 
toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until  every  drop  of  blood  drawn  with  the 
lash  shall  be  paid  with  another  drawn  with  the  sword,  —  as  was 
said  three  thousand  years  ago,  —  so,  still  it  must  be  said,  ^  The 
judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  altogether.' 

"  With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with  firmness 
in  the  right  as   God   gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to 


30  The  Murder  of  President  Lincoln. 

finish  the  work  we  are  in;  to  bind  up  the  nation's  wounds;  to 
care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne  the  battle,  and  for  his  widow 
and  his  orphans;  to  do  all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just 
and  lasting  peace  among  ourselves,  and  with  all  nations." 

This  last  paragraph  ought  to  be  engraven  on  his  monument. 

In  the  midst  of  life,  brethren,  we  are  in  death.  Death  meets 
man  at  every  turn,  —  a  surprise  and* a  mystery.  In  the  high 
places  of  the  nations  men  fall  sometimes  by  violence,  and  some- 
times in  peace;  and  the  more  private  circle  of  the  home  is 
visited  by  death's  call,  and  our  friends  are  borne  away  to  the 
tomb.  That  same  morning  which  witnessed  the  departure  of 
the  spirit  of  President  Lincoln  from  the  earth  witnessed  also  the 
departure  from  this  life  of  a  venerable  life  connected  with  this 
congregation.  No  man  living  could  be  in  more  ardent  S3'mpathy 
with  the  cause  of  Emancipation  than  he  was.  He  had  passed 
through  a  lengthened  public  life,  honored  with  various  high  pub- 
lic trusts,  and  had  reached  an  advanced  age  which  demanded 
repose.  But  with  fourscore  years  upon  him,  he  had  a  heart  ten- 
der as  a  child  for  the  WTongs  of  the  slave.  Any  reference  to 
these  wrongs  stirred  his  whole  nature  with  profound  and  visible 
motion.     You  know  I  refer  here  to  the  late  Mr.  Justice  Gale. 

Yes;  in  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death.  Men  fall  at  con- 
spicuous posts,  and  in  the  full  bustle  of  a6tive  public  life.  While 
the  tidings  of  President  Lincoln's  death  were  yet  fresh  upon  us, 
ships  from  beyond  the  sea  came  with  further  tidings  of  sadness 
and  death.  We  heard  that  Richard  Cobden,  one  of  England's 
foremost  men,  had  suddenly  ceased  to  be.  Pie  had  come  up  to 
London  to  take  part  in  a  debate  concerning  Canada;  but  sickness 
seized  him,  and  soon  cut  short  his  life.  He,  too,  like  President 
Lincoln,  was  a  self-made  man,  rising  gradually  from  humble 
birth  and  social  obscurity,  until,  by  dint  of  perseverance,  attain- 
ments, and  character,  he  became  one   of  the  most  influential  men 


Rev.  John  Cordner.  3 1 


of  the  nation.  He  was  a  representative  man  of  the  bone  and 
sinew  of  England,  —  her  intelligent  middle  and  industrial  classes. 
These  are  the  classes  who  have  built  up  Britain's  material  power 
and  greatness.  These  are  the  men  who  plant  her  colonies,  car- 
ry her  wide-stretching  commerce,  and  her  traditions  of  liberty,  all 
over  the  earth:  here  bearing  fruit  in  one  form;  in  another  place, 
bearino^  fruit  in  another  form.  Canada  and  the  United  States  are 
both  the  products  of  the  energy  and  enterprise  of  the  middle  and 
industrial  classes  of  our  common  mother-country.  Mr.  Cobden, 
like  Mr.  Lincoln,  was  a  man  of  marked  sincerity  of  purpose  and 
integrity  of  chara6ler.  Like  Mr.  Lincoln,  he  had  to  bear  his 
share  of  obloquy  from  flippant  and  reckless  partisan  opponents; 
but  like  Mr.  Lincoln,  too,  he  triumphed  over  these,  and  has 
bequeathed  a  name  to  his  country,  which  his  country  will  not 
willingly  let  die.  His  name  is  intimately  identified  with  some  of 
the  most  important  political  and  economic  reforms  of  the  present 
century.  He  cheapened  the  food  of  the  operative  masses  in 
England,  after  a  hard  and  tedious  confli6l  with  the  ignorance  and 
selfishness  of  the  agricultural  interests  and  landed  aristocracy. 
He  lived  to  see  the  nation  a  grateful  convert  to  his  enlightened 
principles  of  commerce.  He  was  invited  to  join  Lord  Pal- 
merston  as  Cabinet  Minister;  but  he  declined.  He  was  offered 
rank  and  title;  but  he  declined.  He  wanted  neither  office  nor 
title.  His  desire  was  that  of  a  sincere  and  noble  mind,  to  serve 
his  countrymen  —  the  great  mass  of  his  toiling  countr3^men  — 
with  an  honest  and  disinterested  service.  And,  when  the  calami- 
ty of  civil  war  befel  the  United  States,  his  intelligent  acquaint- 
ance with  American  affairs,  and  his  clear  moral  vision,  preserved 
him  from  that  lamentable  delusion  on  this  matter  in  which  cer- 
tain classes  of  English  societ}?^  became  almost  hopelessly  involved. 
President  Lincoln  had  in  him  an  enlightened  and  faithful  friend. 
He  was  the  consistent  supporter  of  the  cause  of  free  labor  and  of 


3  2  The  Murder  of  President  Lincoln. 

popular  government  in  the  free  States,  as  against  all  faftitious 
claim  to  sympathy  and  support  made  on  behalf  of  an  attempt  to 
establish  an  oligarchical  Republic  founded  on  slave  labor.  His 
voice  did  as  much  as  any  other  man's  to  keep  the  masses  of  the 
English  people  right  on  this  great  subject.  He  was,  beside,  the 
steady  advocate  of  international  peace.  He  had  faith  in  Chris- 
tianity as  a  religion  of  peace.  Sixteen  years  ago,  it  w^as  my 
privilege  to  meet  him  as  a  delegate  to  the  Peace  Congress  then 
held  in  Paris.  Then  and  there,  I  listened  to  his  calm,  cogent, 
and  convincing  speech  on  the  main  topic  of  the  Congress.  I  do 
not  knov^  in  w^hat  form  he  v^^ould  have  w^ritten  his  religious  creed. 
But  his  expressed  maxim  was,  "  You  have  no  hold  on  any  man 
who  has  no  religious  faith."  There  was  no  narrowness  about 
his  religion.  It  was  broad  in  its  sympathies,  and  practical  in  its 
aims.  He  said  he  liked  the  Unitarians,  "because  they  did  not 
make  their  faith  and  works  distinct."  And,  speaking  as  I  do  from 
a  Unitarian  pulpit,  I  may  be  pardoned  for  alluding  to  the  faft, 
that  Richard  Cobden  first  tried  his  power  as  a  public  speaker  in 
the  Cross-street  Unitarian  Chapel  Room  in  Manchester.  And 
when  he  wanted  help  in  any  good  cause,  as  he  was  heard  to  say 
many  years  afterwards,  he  knew  he  could  always  rely  on  the 
Unitarian  young  men  of  that  city.  When  Richard  Cobden,  the 
son  of  a  Sussex  farmer,  died,  one  of  England's  genuine  noblemen 
passed  away.  When  he  died,  the  cause  of  human  freedom  and 
progress  lost  one  of  its  most  enlightened  friends  and  devoted 
advocates. 

In  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death.  On  the  seventh  day  of 
this  present  month  of  April,  the  grave  closed  over  the  mortal 
remains  of  this  conspicuous  representative  Englishman.  Just  one 
week  afterwards,  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  this  same  month,  an 
assassin's  hand  brought  death  to  a  conspicuous  representative 
American.     Abraham  Lincoln  and  Richard  Cobden,  names  fa- 


Rev.  yohn  Cordiier.  ■JiZ 


miliar  in  two  continents,  no  longer  represent  living  men.  Both 
have  passed  away  from  the  scene.  Yet,  from  a  human  point  of 
view,  how  needful  to  their  two  nations  were  these  two  men! 
Both  were  lovers  of  freedom.  Both  were  friends  of  peace. 
Each  in  his  own  nation  was  a  pledge  of  peace  toward  the  other 
nation.  The  removal  of  these  two  men  about  the  same  time  is  a 
notable  and  startling  fa6t  in  the  order  of  Divine  Providence,  —  a 
fa6l,  solemn,  inscrutable,  admonitory.  How  shall  we  interpret 
this  double  dispensation  of  death?  And  what  use  shall  we  make 
thereof  ?  Brethren,  the  times  are  critical.  War  exists  on  this 
continent;  and  the  spirit  which  breeds  war  is  unhappily  too  rife 
here  and  elsewhere.  What  then?  Are  we  not  bound  to  look 
soberly  and  devoutly  at  passing  events?  And,  as  we  stand  at 
this  hour  by  the  freshly  closed  grave  of  Richard  Cobden,  and 
behold  the  murdered  body  of  Abraham  Lincoln  passing  along, 
amid  a  nation's  wail,  to  its  tomb,  shall  we  not  pray,  and  put  our 
prayer  into  effort,  that  the  two  great  and  kindred  nations,  of 
which  these  two  men  were  such  conspicuous  representatives, 
shall  remain  in  amity  and  at  peace  each  with  the  other?  Every* 
true  friend  of  either  nation  must  desire  this,  and  can  desire 
nothing  but  this.  And  all  such  persons  should  have  a  clear 
understanding  of  their  duty  at  this  juncture.  The  governments 
of  the  two  countries  are  friendly  and  peacefully  disposed.  The 
most  recent  intercourse  between  our  Qiieen's  representative  at 
Washington,  and  the  new  President  of  the  United  States,  indicates 
a  spirit  of  mutual  friendliness,  which  goes  beyond  the  coldness  of 
mere  formality.  But,  in  contrast  with  this  friendly  temper  of  the 
two  governments,  we  cannot  but  notice  the  unfriendly  temper  of 
certain  classes  of  persons  on  both  sides  of  the  frontier  line.  By 
whatever  name  the}^  are  called  on  this  or  the  other  side,  how 
different  soever  may  be  their  origin  on  one  side  or  the  other,  or 
apparently  opposite  their  present  party  connections,  their  temper, 

5 


34  The  Murder  of  President  Lincohi. 

in  this  regard,  is  the  same;  and  by  their  fruits  they  are  known. 
Their  purpose,  jointly  and  severally,  whether  acting  in  concert  or 
in  seeming  confli6l,  is  to  foment  international  strife,  and  fan  the 
flame  of  ill-will.  Their  organs  of  expression  abound  with  abuse 
of  the  United  States  on  the  one  side,  and  of  Great  Britain  on  the 
other.  Various  motives  prompt  on  the  one  side,  and  the  other; 
but  the  thoughtful  and  clear-seeing  e3^e  will  generalize  the  whole 
under  one  order  of  enemies  to  the  true  interests  of  both  coun- 
tries. 

The  day  of  peace  was  just  dawning  on  this  continent,  when 
the  assassin's  deed  threw  a  cloud  of  darkness  over  the  rising 
dawn.  But  God  rules.  The  rising  day-spring  of  peace,  I  trust, 
will  not  be  permanently  clouded.  I  look  with  hope  for  the 
gradual  restoration  of  order  on  this  continent.  But  we  must  not 
be  impatient,  but  bide  the  time  of  the  Supreme  Disposer.  Mean- 
time, as  citizens  of  a  Christian  land,  and  still  enjoying  peace,  let 
us  follow  after  the  things  which  make  for  peace,  and  wisely  cher- 
ish the  temper  thereof.  The  changed  situation  of  the  parfies  to 
the  present  war  will  possibly  lead  before  long  to  a  changed  atti- 
tude on  the  part  of  the  maritime  powers  of  Europe.  Diplomatic 
questions  may  possibly  arise  out  of  the  past;  but  none  ought  to 
lead  to  farther  war.  So  far  as  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  are  concerned,  I  will  venture  to  say,  that  no  question  can 
arise  which  ought  not  be  settled  amicably  by  commissioners 
mutually  chosen.  If  this  cannot  be  done,  then  I  must  blush  for 
the  Christianity  and  civilization  of  the  English-speaking  races  of 
men.  The  news  of  President  Lincoln's  assassination  will  cause 
a  shock  of  horror  in  Europe,  as  it  has  done  in  America.  That 
murder  is  a  blow  which  tells  not  merely  on  one  man  or  one 
government,  but  on  every  man  and  every  government.  What 
man's  life  is  safe,  what  ruler's  life  is  secure,  if  the  assassin  can 
find  his  way  behind  him  in  the  dark?     As  we  stand  in  the  present 


Rev.  yohn  Cordner. 


35 


shadow  of  this  great  calamity,  may  our  hearts  be  moved  to 
deeper  horror  of  that  evil  temper  which  urges  to  crime.  And, 
as  death  presents  itself  to  our  notice  from  time  to  time,  —  some- 
times in  quiet,  and  sometimes  in  startling  form,  —  may  we  be 
moved  to  consider  afresh  the  san6tity  and  significance  of  the  life 
which  God  has  given  us  to  live! 

Christian  Inquirer,  May  27. 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 


A    SERMON    PREACHED    TO    HIS    SOCIETY    IN    BROOKLVN,    N.Y. 


BY  JOHN  W.   CHAD  WICK. 


EccL.  iv.  I  :  "  Behold  the  tears  of  such  as  were  oppressed." 


A  FORTNIGHT  since  I  went  away,  and  left  you  with  a  joy 
upon  your  faces  that  was  all  too  deep  for  words.  To-day,  I 
come  again,  and  find  you  smitten  with  a  grief  too  sad  for  human 
hearts  to  hold.  I  trust  that  God  would  have  permitted  me,  in  case 
I  had  been  with  you  when  this  terrible  calamity  came  thundering 
down  into  3'our  common  life,  to  speak,  not  altogether  foolishl}^, 
according  to  your  sorrow  and  your  need.  I  trust,  beside,  that 
your  own  hearts  have  prophesied  how  hard  it  was  for  me  not  to 
be  with  you.  It  may  be  that  I  could  have  helped  you  just  a 
little.  But  you  would  have  given  to  me  a  great  deal  more  than  I 
could  have  bestowed.  And  if,  to-day,  my  words  but  faintly  echo 
that  which  your  sad  hearts  keep  on  complaining,  will  you  not  try 
to  feel  that  they  would  have  been  better  spoken,  if,  first,  I  could 
have  seen  the  meaning  of  this  sorrow  written  upon  your  faces,  or 
felt  it  quiver  through  the  trembling  grasp  of  your  right  hands? 

"  Behold  the  tears  of  such  as  were  oppressed."  Shall  I  tell 
you  why  I  took  this  sentence  for  my  text?  It  was  because  I  felt, 
that,  when  the  news  of  Abraham  Lincoln's  death  should  find 
its  way  into  the  streets  of  Charleston  and  Savannah,  into  the  tents 


Rev.  yoh7i  W.  Chadivick.  37 

of  colored  regiments,  into  the  cabin  of  the  planter,  and  the  brain 
of  Robert  Small,  tears  would  arise,  from  hearts  all  bruised  and 
shattered,  into  eyes  already  dim  with  other  tears,  not  sorrowful, 
more  hot  and  scalding  than  ever  mother  shed  upon  the  death-bed 
of  her  earliest  born.  Not  forgetting  any  other  sorrow  whose 
offerings  will  be  wreathed  about  his  memory,  I  could  but  feel 
that  the  enfranchised  nesfro  of  the  South  would  twine  for  him  the 
darkest  cypress  and  the  brightest  bay.  I  would  not  be  unjust  to 
any  of  the  countless  multitude  who  mourn  his  swift  departure. 
One's  brain  needs  not  to  be  badgered  ere  he  thinks  how  much  he 
was  beloved.  I  take  it  that  your  shrouded  streets  but  faintly 
symbolize  the  utter  darkness  of  your  inward  woe.  And  I  respe6t 
all  these  attempts  which  men  and  women  make  to  help  and  com- 
mune with  each  other.  It  is  quite  terrible  to  see  your  marts  and 
custom-houses  draped  so  darkly  and  so  heavily.  It  is  altogether 
sweet  and  tender  and  beautiful  to  see  the  bits  of  blackness  that 
the  poor  and  starving  and  half-naked  denizens  of  this  and  yonder 
city  put  out  from  their  windows,  even  in  narrow  courts  and 
crowded  alleys,  where  only,  God,  perhaps,  can  look  upon  them. 
I  doubt  not  that  these  bits  of  crape  and  muslin  help  these  poor 
wretches,  from  whose  dingy  homes  they  flit  so  drearily,  to  forget 
themselves  a  little,  and  that  they  keep  away  the  devil  for  a  day 
or  for  an  hour.  This  is  their  recompense.  Their  loss,  which 
they  do  not  begin  to  understand,  is  gain  to  them  in  some  such 
way  as  this.  And  what  a  change  upon  your  splendid  thorough- 
fares !  How  bright  they  were  with  banners  scarcely  a  week  ago ! 
It  was  a  feast  of  resurre6tion ;  and  now  it  is  as  if  the  risen  Lord 
had  gone  back  into  his  tomb  again.  It  made  me  shudder,  when  I 
came  upon  them  suddenly  a  day  or  two  ago.  But  what  was  all 
the  crape,  and  what  were  all  the  drooping  flags,  and  all  the 
reverent  devices,  to  the  sad  faces  of  the  listless  throng?  And 
what  were  these  to  the  sad  hearts  that  tried  in  vain  to  symbolize 


38  Abraham  Lmcoln. 


their  bitterness  ?  Is  it  too  much  to  say,  that  never  in  the  annals  of 
our  modern  Hfe  was  there  such  deep  and  unaffected  sorrow? 
The  death  of  Everett,  of  Harrison,  of  Webster,  furnished  no 
parallel.  No  more  did  that  of  the  first  Washington.  To-day, 
the  second,  snatched  so  suddenly  away,  Qplipses  him,  and  every 
other,  with  the  majestic  sorrow  that  he  leaves  behind. 

It  happened  that  the  love  accorded  to  this  man  admitted  of  no 
geogi-aphical  distinctions.  It  came  from  every  quarter  of  the 
world,  and  from  men  of  every  nation  and  condition.  I  will  not 
speak  for  his  own  land;  but  I  am  certain  that  in  other  lands  his 
fame,  ere  long,  will  outrun  that  of  Washington.  I  doubt  not, 
that,  in  every  nation  of  Europe,  there  are  men  and  women  to-day 
who  pray  God  that  they  may  live  to  see  that  face,  which  even  we 
shall  see  no  more  for  ever.  How  sad  the  bravest  of  the  French 
will  be,  that  he  has  not  outlived  the  incubus  which  is  upon  their 
bosoms!  Alas  that  Garibaldi  could  not  have  looked  into  those 
deep  eyes,  that  were  so  beautiful  that  they  will  haunt  me  wdth 
their  witching  tenderness  until  my  dying  day!  Pity,  that  the 
grandchild  of  that  chief,  who  bears  our  Chieftain's  name,  could 
not  have  kissed  his  broad,  pale  forehead,  though  it  had  been  but 
for  a  single  time!  And  do  you  imagine  that  his  name  was  never 
w^hispered  in  German  brotherhoods  and  Austrian  homes,  if  homes 
they  can  be  called.?  The  Swiss  guide  talks  about  him  to  the 
traveller.  I  have  heard  the  echoes  of  his  fame  from  the  Valley 
of  El  Ghor,  and  from'Jerusalem.  It  is  marvellous,  you  say,  that 
this  man  should  have  been  so  greatl}'  loved,  while  yet  so  little 
known.  No:  it  is  not  marvellous;  for  the  whole  man  w^as  of  a 
piece.  And  upon  the  least  hint  it  was  as  easy  to  constru6l  him, 
as  for  the  geologist  to  constru6t  completed  organisms  from  a 
single  bone.  There  was  not  a  rotten  thread,  not  a  bit  of  shoddy, 
in  the  whole  man.  Was  any  thing  good,  it  was  all  good.  So 
that  to  know  him  but  a  little  was  to  love  him  well.     But  to  know 


Rev.  yohn  W.  Chadwick.  39 

him  well  was  to  love  with  an  almost  infinite  affe6lion.  And  to 
have  known  him  much  or  little  is  to  mourn  his  loss  as  if  he  were 
indeed  our  father,  and  to  curse  the  day  that  ever  treason  raised 
its  bloody  hand  against  a  life  so  fair. 

And  yet  the  tears  which  fall  upon  the  dusky  cheeks  of  the 
enfranchised  slave  are  better  worth  beholding  than  any  tears 
which  stain  your  cheeks,  or  flow  from  fountains  far  away  across 
the  sea.  They  shall  be  more  to  him  in  heaven  than  those  which 
strong  men  shed  against  their  will;  more  to  him  than  even  the 
gentlest  tears  of  womanhood.  But  they  shall  not  fall  and  sting 
as  other  tears  which  must  be  shed  sooner  or  later.  For  such 
will  fall  like  hissing  coals  upon  the  cheeks  that  have  not  blushed 
when  the  false  tongue  beneath  shot  out  its  base  and  wicked  slan- 
ders, which  went  like  poisoned  arrows  iqto  a  great,  tender  soul, — 
and  yet  a  soul  that  was  so  sweet,  that  it  could  quench  their  poi- 
son. And  when  they,  who  made  these  arrows  out  of  hate,  and 
dipped  them  in  the  essence  of  obscenity,  shall  know  at  whom 
they  shot  them,  and  how  perfect  his  forgiveness  was,  theirs  shall 
be  grief  and  misery  indeed.  There  can  be  no  sorrow  like  this 
sorrow.  Other  than  this,  there  is  no  sorrow  like  the  black  man's 
own,  —  at  once  so  rich  and  full  and  tender. 

With  what  awful  suddenness  did  this  blow  descend,  even 
upon  us  who  thought  that  we  had  passed  beyond  the  stage  where 
men  can  be  surprised!  With  what  tenfold  horror,  then,  it  must 
be  fraught  for  those  whose  only  life,  as  yet,  is  that  of  sense  and 
feeling!  On  the  morning  of  Saturday,  the  15th  April,  I  stood  in 
Zion  Church,  in  Charleston,  a  larger  church  than  Mr.  Beecher's, 
and  from  two  to  three  thousand  of  these  emancipated  ones  were 
there  assembled.  And  when  the  name  of  Lincoln  was  uttered  in 
that  presence,  it  was  greeted  with  such  exhibitions  of  reverence 
and  love  as  I  never  saw  before.  The  cheers  that  went  up  from 
that  multitude  went  up  from  the  heart.     I  wish,  my  friends,  that 


40  Abraham  Lincoln. 


you  could  have  been  there.  They  prayed;  they  sung;  they 
danced  for  very  joy.  They  hugged  their  dusky  children  to  their 
bosoms  in  the  very  ecstasy  of  pleasure  and  content.  Their  whole 
frames  trembled  with  emotion.  And  I  said  to  myself,  "  Oh  that 
Lincoln  miofht  know  of  this!"  And  he  did  know  of  it.  "Oh 
that  he  were  here!  "  I  said;  and  he  was  there.  For,  on  that  very 
morning,  his  soul  had  put  away  the  chains  of  fleshly  limitation; 
and  the  uncouth  form  was  lying  stift'  and  cold,  where  slavery  had 
stricken  it.  The  genius  of  rebellion  had  done  its  w^orst  upon  the 
nation's  gentlest,  bravest,  best. 

And  now  I  keep  on  thinking  how  it  would  have  been,  if  this 
tale  of  godless  murder  had  been  told  there  in  that  cursed  and  bat- 
tered city  to  that  waiting  multitude.  Surely  it  would  have  frozen 
their  poor  hearts.  It  would  have  burdened  them  with  a  sense  of 
unutterable  horror  and  despair.  For  they  cannot  rise  to  any  thing 
impersonal.  They  deal  with  individuals.  Even  their  God  is  one. 
They  recognize  no  providential  order,  —  only  its  instruments  and 
its  etfe6ts.  They  are  free,  and  "  Massa  Lincoln  "  made  them  so. 
He  w^as  their  Christ  and  their  deliverer.  And  their  old  enemies 
have  crucified  him.  God  help  them  when  they  hear  of  this! 
God  grant  it  may  not  goad  them  to  a  swift  and  terrible  revenge! 
They  have  borne  and  forborne  so  long,  may  the  kind  Heavens 
decree  that  they  be  still,  as  ever,  merciful  to  them  that  have  no 
mercy!  But,  oh!  how  swift  and  strong  and  terrible  will  be  the 
flood  of  their  emotion!  How  fierce  will  be  their  agony!  how 
cold  and  hard  their  disappointment!  And  again  I  say,  God  help 
them!     And  do  you  work  with  him. 

1  believe  that  this  is  the  only  providential  way  in  which  you 
can  be  reconciled  to  this  supreme  affli6lion.  If  you  stand  silently 
apart,  and  brood  upon  this  a6t  of  the  assassin,  and  the  dear  life  it 
has  destroyed,  what  shall  keep  your  tired  brain  from  distra6lion, 
your  poor  weak  heart  from   fierce  rebellion  ?     You   must  forget 


Rev.  yohn  W.  Chadivick.  41 

3^ourself,  and  all  the  circumstances  of  this  most  foul  and  most  un- 
natural murder.  Compare  the  black  man's  sorrow  with  your 
own:  go  and  behold  the  tears  of  the  oppressed.  You  must  live 
for  them  as  did  that  martyred  one  whose  memory  you  revere.  If 
need  be,  you  must  die  for  them  as  he  did.  You  must  go  to  these 
poor  wanderers,  and  wipe  away  the  tears  that  shut  them  out  as 
with  a  blinding  mist  from  all  things  heavenly.  And  it  may  come 
to  pass,  that  you  shall  know  that  this  good  man  died  for  you  also. 
The  consciousness  of  carrying  out  his  lofty  purposes  shall  take 
up  its  abode  in  you.  And  this  shall  be  your  recompense.  Your 
loss  shall  be  as  gain  to  you,  and  your  sad  heart  shall  be  comforted, 
if  to  this  end  you  look  about  you,  and  "behold  the  tears  of  such 
as  were  oppressed." 

But  come  and  ponder  lovingly  with  me  the  life  and  chara6ter 
of  this  dear  friend  of  God's  eternal  justice.  There  is  something 
very  worshipful  about  him,  when  you  consider  merely  his  concrete 
appearance,  that  which  he  manifested  to  the  world.  His  steady 
progress  upward,  through  a  thousand  hindrances  and  bars  and 
terrible  privations,  to  the  highest  point  of  influence  and  esteem. 
One  might  talk  for  hours  about  the  obstacles  which  he  encoun- 
tered and  as  often  overcame.  It  was  his  task,  as  it  is  every  man's, 
to  hew  from  out  a  mass  of  shapeless  stuff  a  name,  a  character,  an 
influence.  But  how  many  find  their  marble  ready  and  their  tools 
at  hand!  It  was  not  so  with  him.  He  was  obliged  to  quarry  his 
material,  and  to  fashion  his  tools.  But,  working  diligently,  he 
came  at  length  to  shape  colossal  forms,  whose  merit  shall  insure 
him  universal  admiration.  And  this,  I  say,  was  very  worshipful. 
Yet  it  might  not  have  been  so.  For  other  men  have  raised  them- 
selves, by  slow  degrees,  from  deeper  valleys  to  more  lofty  heights 
of  civil  power  and  glory.  And  3^et  they  are  not  admirable  in  any 
way.  And  why?  Because  their  end  was  self.  Because  they 
bent  God's  opportunities  into   a    refuge    for   their    own    conceit. 

6 


42  Abraham  Liiicoln. 


When  they  might  have  built  these  into  his  altars,  they  built  them 
into  thrones,  that  they  might  sit  upon  them.  And  they  marked 
the  stages  of  their  journey  upward  with  false  beacons  and  with 
lying  monuments.  Has  not  the  progress  of  Napoleon  III.  been  a 
progressive  masquerade?  Has  he  not  been  a  liar  and  a  cheat 
from  its  besjinnino^  until  now^.^  Our  Chief  Magfistrate  not  only 
raised  himself  to  noble  eminence,  but  he  did  this  with  the  appli- 
ances of  simple  justice.  Try  him  by  the  standard  of  success,  and 
he  does  not  fall  a  whit  below  it.  You  cannot  tind  in  history  a 
more  successful  life.  And  yet  it  was  so  through  no  trick  or  sub- 
terfuge. He  w^alked  over  every  inch  of  the  ground.  He  forded 
every  stream  that  crossed  his  way.  He  rode  in  no  man's  carriage. 
He  burdened  no  man's  shoulders.  And  then,  for  crown  and  cul- 
mination, no  sooner  did  he  find  himself  on  any  height  of  honor, 
than  from  that  height  he  hurried  back  to  seek  for  any  who,  per- 
chance, had  been  less  fortunate,  and  point  for  them  the  way.  No 
sooner  did  he  win  a  gift,  through  prayer  and  struggle,  than  he 
fain  would  share  it  with  some  brother  soldier  in  the  ranks  of 
mortal  weakness  and  temptation.  So  much  for  his  outward  life, 
—  a  great  success,  —  and  as  such  consecrated  to  great  purposes. 
For  this  reason,  come  upon  it  where  you  will,  it  is  significant. 
At  every  point  of  his  circumference,  there  were  springs  conne6l- 
ing  with  the  central  power  and  beauty  of  his  soul.  The  least  a6t 
had  the  flavor  of  the  greatest;  and  it  was  as  natural  for  him  to 
strike  otl'  four  million  fetters  at  a  blow,  as  for  him  to  leave  his 
Cabinet  to  talk  with  any  soldier's  wife,  and  answer  her  petition. 
And  his  words  were  deeds  also.  He  never  wrote  a  letter  or  a 
message,  and  he  never  made  a  speech,  which  did  not  contain 
something  that  was  fine  and  memorable.  Some  of  his  sentences 
are  like  children's  prayers,  and  some  of  them  are  as  sturdy  as  the 
blows  he  dealt  in  when  he  swung  his  axe  upon  the  border.  Some 
of  them  soothe  like  ointment;   but  anon  they  pierce  like  a  two- 


Rev.  Johii  W.  Chadwick.  43 

edged  sword.  But  he  was  very  chary  of  them.  And  hence,  no 
doubt,  the  world  will  cherish  them  the  more.  For  upon  every 
thing  he  said  or  did  he  stamped  his  inmost  self,  as  with  the  signet 
of  a  king.     And  the  motto  of  that  signet  was  the  name  of  God. 

The  form  and  substance  of  this  man  were  so  related,  that  to 
speak  of  one  necessitated  mention  of  the  other.  True,  it  were 
easy  to  abstraft  success  from  every  thing  beside.  But  the  mo- 
ment that  I  spoke  of  his  success  as  being  beautiful,  I  had  to  tell 
you  why  it  was  so,  and  speak  of  his  sincerity.  I  had  to  say  that 
he  was  honest  in  the  methods  of  his  greatness,  and  that  its  end 
Avas  not  himself,  but  human  love  and  helpfulness.  I  think  that 
he  would  have  preferred  to  work  in  a  more  humble  sphere.  He 
hated  din  and  bustle.  He  had  no  taste  for  pomp  and  circum- 
stance, and  he  dearly  loved  the  quiet  of  his  home.  But  he  found 
himself  to  be  a  providential  manj  and  thereupon  he  put  his  hand 
in  that  of  the  unseen  fate  and  providence,  and  let  it  lead  him  as 
it  would.  And  it  led  him  into  toil  more  hard,  into  anxiety  more 
terrible,  than  any  other  man  has  wrought  or  suffered  in  these  lat- 
ter days.  But  he  did  not  grumble;  he  did  not  complain.  He 
made  no  doubt  that  God  knew  what  was  best  for  him.  His  hon- 
esty and  his  benevolence  were  equal  to  the  largest  application. 
They  widened  with  the  greater  need  and  opportunity,  —  the  one 
into  justice,  the  other  into  universal  sympathy. 

But,  anon,  it  came  to  pass  that  this  deep-e3^ed  and  tender- 
hearted man,  who  had  been  schooled  on  wooded  slopes  and  prairie 
solitudes;  whose  teachers  had  been  want  and  deprivation;  still 
somewhat  rough  and  crude  and  angular,  —  became  a  potent,  ener- 
gizing force.  He  compelled  respe6l  from  such  as  would  not 
grant  it  willingly.  One  by  one  the  voices  of  detra6lion  ceased. 
Lord  Lyons  goes  away  regretting  that  the  President  is  not  more 
utterly  respe6led  and  admired.  Wise  men  across  the  sea  delib- 
erately  write  his  name    high    up  with    Hampden's,   Cromwell's, 


44  •  Ab7'aham  Lincoln. 


Washington's.  He  controls  a  Cabinet,  every  man  of  which  sur- 
passes him  in  culture  and  experience.  He  thanks  them  for  their 
advice;  he  is  anxious  for  their  opinions:  but  he  never  substitutes 
them  for  his  own.  Their  discords  do  not  trouble  him;  or,  when 
they  do,  he  drops  the  offending  member  as  quietly  as  the  tree 
drops  down  its  ripest  apple  in  the  fall.  He  has  ruled  this  people 
as  it  has  not  been  ruled  since  Andrew  Jackson's  time,  yet  not  in 
Andrew  Jackson's  arbitrary  way.  He  ruled  by  force  of  chara6ler, 
and  not  by  force  of  will.  He  did  it  quite  unconsciously.  He 
thought  that  he  was  looking  up  to  Mr.  Seward.  But  it  was  cer- 
tainly an  illusion,  and  Mr.  Seward  did  not  think  so.  And,  before 
his  death,  the  traitors  of  the  South  honored  him  with  their  hatred, 
and  acknowledged  that  he  was  not  to  be  despised.  There  is  no 
doubt,  but  that  he  lived  to  be  the  vital  head  of  civilization  in 
America,  and  freedom  in  the  world. 

Now,  it  is  very  plain  that  this  fine  potency  did  not  come  of 
honesty  nor  of  benevolence.  They  were  its  rich  and  beautiful 
adorning.  It  was  not  in  them  to  beget  a  child  so  strong.  At 
best,  they  were  the  conditions  of  its  growth.  They  were  not  the 
cause  of  it,  and  it  is  that  which  we  are  seeking.  Honesty  and 
benevolence  will  commend  a  man  to  God;  but  we  are  more  ex- 
a6ting.  We  do  not  bow  and  kneel  when  these  exist  apart  from 
other  qualities.  What  were  the  sources,  then,  of  this  man's  con- 
stantly increasing  power?  I  do  not  find  them  hidden  in  the 
crannies  of  his  brain.  He  did  not  prevail  by  dint  of  intellectual 
superiority.  I  know  that  he  was  sharp  and  keen.  He  was  not 
apt  to  be  illogical.  He  had  a  passion  for  destro3-ing  sophistries. 
But  these  were  any  thing  but  rare  endowments ;  and  as  for  fancy 
and  imagination,  he  had  none;  and  for  insight  he  was  not  remark- 
able. His  throne  was  never  built  on  intelle6tual  foundations.  It 
rested  on  his  faith  and  resolution.  His  resolute  determination 
was    only  equalled   by  his  perfe6t  trust.     These   gave  him  that 


Rev.  jfohn  W.  Chadwick.  45 

magnetic  force  which  we   denominate   chara6ler,  and   constituted 
him  a  power. 

But  the  operation  of  his  will  was  as  quiet  and  as  irresistible  as 
that  of  any  natural  law.  There  was  no  fuss  and  demonstration. 
He  made  his  soul  a  sacrifice  for  sin.  He  pledged  himself  to  God 
to  make  an  end  of  this  rebellion.  He  never  doubted  that  he 
should  accomplish  his  desire.  He  never  dreamed  of  being  balked 
in  his  intention.  He  felt  the  weight  of  all  this  struggle  upon  his 
own  heart;  and,  if  he  could  have  lifted  it,  he  would  not  have  done 
so.  So  that,  when  he  had  carried  it  four  years,  the  nation  entered 
into  his  thought,  strange  as  it  was,  and  allowed  him,  as  a  privilege, 
to  bear  it  still.  And  not  until  the  special  task  which  he  accepted, 
of  crushing  armed  rebellion,  had  been  fairly  done,  was  heaven 
thrown  wide  open  to  receive  him.  Beyond  that  point  his  spirit 
seemed  to  halt.  His  theories  of  reconstru6tion  did  not  satisfy 
himself  An  awful  prescience  haunted  him,  that  other  hands  would 
have  to  manage  that.  God  only  knows  how  many  daggers  have 
been  blunted  against  the  iron  mail  of  his  resolution.  There  is 
nothing  which  can  hedge  a  man  about  like  a  strong  purpose;  and 
so  he  went  everywhere,  armed  in  this  simple  way,  assured  that 
naught  could  harm  him,  if  he  did  not  harm  himself.  This  sturdy 
resolution  was  of  itself  enough  to  make  him  teem  with  power. 
But  to  this  he  added  faith. 

I  mean  by  this,  that  he  was  always  open  to  the  infinite;  that 
he  was  expe6tant,  and  ready  to  be  constantly  corre6ted  and  re- 
vised. He  never  settled  down  into  the  ruts  of  dogmatism,  refus- 
ing to  be  stirred.  It  is  very  strange,  if  that  other  which  I  said  of 
him  was  true,  and  this  also.  But  so  it  happened.  And  it  was  a 
thing*  which  happens  scarcely  once  a  century.  It  was  the  means 
of  his  salvation,  this  perfect  faith  in  God,  united  with  a  will  to 
carry  out  the  di6lates  of  his  inspiration.  For  the  Eternal  Provi- 
dence does  not  give  its  talents  unto  those  who  bury  them.     No 


46  Abraham  Lincoln. 


wonder,  then,  that  he  was  always  placid  and  serene.  Resolved 
upon  his  work,  and  confident  that  God  would  give  him  strength 
accordinir  to  his  dav,  whv  should  he  not  have  been?  But  he 
knew  the  price  of  wisdom,  and  he  lived  accordingly.  He  was 
an  optimist;  but  he  knew  well  enough  that  it  is  God  who  worketh 
in  us,  both  to  will  and  do.  He  did  not  think  that  God's  work 
would  go  on,  if  his  own  work,  and  yours  and  mine,  stopped  short, 
or  even  flagged.  Therefore,  he  made  the  most  of  all  the  faculties 
and  means  at  his  command.  The  mental  movement  of  the  man 
was  very  slow;  and  yet  it  made  good  distances,  what  with  the 
sense  he  had  of  constant  oversight  and  certain  ultimate  reward. 
Before,  the  glorious  future  beckoned  him.  The  Holy  Spirit 
pricked  him  from  behind. 

It  was  this  grand  and  lofty  fatalism  which  preserved  him, 
when  the  shafts  of  treasonable  and  partisan  abuse  fell  thickest  all 
about  him.  He  accepted  these  things,  with  no  end  of  care  and 
pain  and  misconception,  as  necessary  parts  of  his  condition. 
There  was  the  task;  and  there  was  God  who  set  it.  Every  thing 
else  was  worse  than  vanity  compared  with  these.  But  it  is  very 
plain,  that  he  was  not  indifferent  to  the  cruel  blows  that  were 
levelled  at  him  every  day.  Instead  of  this,  he  was  as  sensitive  as 
any  child.  But  he  had  made  up  his  mind  what  to  expert  before 
he  started;  and,  in  the  silence  of  his  own  heart,  he  had  prepared 
himself  for  all  contingencies:  — 

"  As  if  the  man  had  set  his  face, 
In  many  a  solitary  place, 
Against  the  wind  and  open  sky." 

And  when  great  men  and  small  met  him,  at  any  time  or  place, 
they  found  him  perfe6t  in  his  poise  and  self-containment;  they 
felt  his  power;  they  knew  that  there  was  plenty  of  it  in  reserve; 
and,  though  they  did  not  stop  to  analyze,  they  were  assured  that 


Rev.  yohn  W.  Chadzvick.  47 

its  beginning  went  clear  down  into  the  heart  of  nature,  into  the 
Hfe  of  God.  And  they  bowed  themselves  before  him;  and,  going 
on  their  way,  told  all  men  everywhere  how  excellent  he  was. 
And  so,  in  time,  he  came  to  be  the  power  which  I  assert,  —  the 
living  head  of  that  great  body  which  we  call  the  Time. 

But  he  was  not  only  a  centre  of  force:  he  was  a  centre  of 
attraction.  And,  as  yet,  I  have  said  nothing  which  accounts  for 
this.  I  have  said  why  men  honored  and  respefted  him,  not  why 
they  loved  him  as,  perhaps,  no  other  man  was  ever  loved,  save 
by  a  wife  or  mother.  He  might  have  been  as  faithful  and  deter- 
mined, as  honest  and  as  just,  as  I  have  said  he  was,  yet  not  have 
been  beloved.  For  such  qualities  must  be  intellectually  appre- 
hended, seen  ;  and  it  is  a  proverb,  that  love  is  blind.  Yet  can  we 
turn  to  all  the  world,  and  say,  "  Behold,  how  we  loved  him!" 
It  was  because  we  felt  his  sympath}^  with  us,  and  knew  that,  if 
we  went  to  see  him,  even  the  humblest  of  us,  he  would  take  us 
by  the  hand  as  cordially  as  if  we  had  a  rightful  claim  upon  his 
time  or  his  atfeCtion;  it  was  because  of  his  naturalness  and  free- 
dom; because  he  was  so  void  of  any  thing  like  affeftation  or 
conceit.  He  was  always  himself;  and  it  seemed  never  to  occur 
to  him,  that  he  might  be  something  different:  although,  as  such, 
he  was  no  carpet-knight,  no  drawing-room  celebrity.  He  lived 
so  deeply,  that  he  lived  unconsciously.  And,  in  his  way,  he  was 
as  easy  and  as  gracious  as  my  lord.  M'^e  loved  him,  too,  because 
he  was  so  kind;  because  he  would  listen  while  the  common 
soldier  told  the  story  of  his  real  or  fancied  wrongs,  or  while  his 
wife  or  mother  prayed  for  his  furlough  or  discharge.  And  we 
remember  him  upon  the  field  of  Gettysburg,  and  at  Captain 
Worden's  bedside;  and  we  never  shall  forget  his  agony,  when 
Hooker  was  discomfited.  And  then  we  loved  him  for  his  sweet 
and  happy  disposition.  Was  ever  any  one  burdened  so  heavily, 
and  yet  so  genial  and  so  pleasant  under  all  cares  ?     I  doubt  not 


48  Abi'ahain  Lincoln. 


that  he  bridged  with  laughter  many  a  swelling  stream.  I  am 
glad  that  it  was  so.  This  quality  in  him  has  often  been  con- 
demned. But  why?  Was  not  his  countenance  weary  and  hag- 
gard enough  to  suit  the  most  exa6ting  fancy?  Easier  than  not, 
he  might  have  weeded  out  this  quality  of  mirth.  And  then  he 
might  have  gone  sheer  mad,  just  for  the  lack  of  it.  But  no: 
he  had  a  work  to  do;  and  how  was  he  straitened  until  it  was  ac- 
complished? Thank  Heaven  that  he  could  sometimes  shift  the 
burden  just  a  little!  He  never  laughed  at  misery.  He  never 
thought  that  slavery  was  a  joke.  And  it  was  a  providential 
blessing  to  us  all,  that  there  was  this  sunny  exposure  to  redeem 
his  life  from  being  altogether  dark  and  troublesome. 

And  now  this  man,  in  whom  were  mixed  so  many  elements  of 
strength  and  beauty;  whose  life  was  so  successful,  and  so  truly  so; 
whose  martyr-death  so  fitly  sealed  his  providential  work;  whose 
faith  and  resolution  made  him  such  a  force ;  whose  genial  warmth 
and  kindly  glow  endeared  him  to  us  all,  —  is  vanished  from  the 
earth  for  ever.  His  lifeless  form  still  journeys  slowly  through  the 
country  which  he  loved;  but  the  truthful  lips  are  silent,  and 
the  kindly  heart  is  still.  And  is  he  lost  to  us  and  to  the  world? 
Shall  we  miss,  for  ever  miss,  the  noble  qualities  that  made  him 
what  he  was?  No,  no!  If  the  sin-blackened  and  incrusted  soul 
of  him  that  robbed  us  of  his  mortal  presence  thought  that  it  would 
be  so,  how  vainly  did  he  reckon!  He  is  ours  in  death,  more  than 
he  was  in  life!  I  know  how  pleasant  and  how  sweet  it  would 
have  been,  if  he  could  have  remained  with  us  until  brooding 
peace  and  universal  freedom  had  settled  down  to  bless  the  weary 
land.  You  should  have  carried  your  children  and  your  chil- 
dren's children  from  afar,  to  see  the  face  of  him  who  broke  the 
bondman's  fetter  in  the  name  of  God.  The  joyful  tears  of  such 
as  w^ere  oppressed  should  have  bedewed  the  threshold  of  his 
simple  home.     And  now  it  cannot  be.     And  yet  it  was  expedient 


Rev.  yohn  W.  Chadwick.  .  49 

for  us  that  he  should  go  away.  He  was  caught  up  into  the  Eter- 
nal Presence  just  when  he  seemed  to  us  more  holy,  pure,  and 
great,  than  ever  in  his  life  before.  There  is  a  moment  when  the 
fever  turns;  there  is  a  day  when  languages  begin  to  lose  their 
purity  of  form;  and  there  are  times  in  life  when  great  men  stand 
upon  the  topmost  peaks  of  possible  achievement,  and  to  proceed 
another  step  is  to  go  downward  on  the  other  side.  Better  a 
thousand  times  ascend  from  hence,  at  once,  into  the  courts  of 
memory  and  fame.  Better  to  crystallize,  ere  yet  the  subtile 
processes  have  carried  them  one  step  beyond  their  highest  point 
of  influence  and  power.  And  so  the  hand  which  murdered 
Abraham  Lincoln  insured  his  earthly  immortality.  They  tell, 
that,  on  the  eyeballs  of  the  slain,  the  murderer  leaves  a  picture  of 
his  face.  It  is  a  hard  fancy.  But  it  is  beautiful  to  think  that  he 
impresses  on  our  hearts  the  memory  of  him  at  whom  he  strikes. 
So  it  is  with  us  now.  Did  you  never  think,  when  looking  at  the 
sunset  clouds,  "  Oh  that  they  might  linger  there  against  the 
west,  just  at  their  perfe6lest,  until  the  painter  painted  them  for 
you,  and  for  his  own  perpetual  joy  "  ?  And  see !  upon  the  back- 
ground of  this  crime,  so  terrible,  the  sundered  life  stands  out  in 
all  its  red  and  purple  glory,  —  stands  fixed  for  ever  at  its  best; 
and  all  the  world  can  seek  to  emulate  the  sweep  and  majesty  of 
its  proportions.     Indeed,  we  have  not  lost  him! 

Would  you  have  me  speak  of  the  poor  fool,  who  thought  that 
he  should  strike  at  freedom  when  he  struck  at  freedom's  tried 
and  faithful  friend  ?  It  would  not  profit  you.  Arrest  him,  if  you 
can.  Punish  him  as  you  may.  And  what  of  that?  You  cannot 
punish  him  according  to  the  measure  of  his  crime. 

"  There  is  a  peak  of  guilt  so  high, 

That  those  who  reach  it  stand  above 
The  sweep  of  dull  humanity, 

The  trail  of  passion  and  of  love. 


50  Abraham  Lincoln. 


The  clouds  that  dim  the  lower  heaven 

Touch  not  the  mountain's  hoarj  crown  ; 
And  on  the  summit,  thunder-riven, 

God's  lightning  only  strikes  them  down." 

You  cannot  visit  him  with  deeper  condemnation  than  that 
which  he  adjudges  to  himself.  When  you  have  done  your  worst 
upon  him,  then  God  will  deal  with  him.  Such  crimes  would 
have  to  go  unpunished,  were  it  not  for  Him.  Our  pains  and 
penalties  are  light  indeed  for  such  transgression.  But  there  are 
infinite  resources.  The  bar  of  heaven  is  not  a  rhetorician's 
fancy. 

It  was  no  sinofle  man  that  murdered  him  whose  loss  we  mourn 
to-day.  It  was  an  institution,  stained  already  with  the  life-blood 
of  a  million  saints.  It  was  an  institution;  the  same  that  mur- 
dered Lovejoy  and  John  Brown ;  the  same  that  struck  at  Sumner 
from  behind  his  back;  and  lit  the  fires  of  this  rebellion,  that  it 
might  burn  up  the  hope  of  freedom  and  democracy.  It  was  not 
to  be.  The  flying  sparks  kindled  the  North  into  a  fiercer  flame, 
which  has  well-nigh  destroyed  the  godless  institution.  I  dare  to 
say,  that  it  was  God's  intention,  when  he  permitted  this  last  a6l 
of  damning  infani}',  that  it  should  be  as  fuel  to  that  flame  which 
burned  so  hot  already.  Its  meaning  is  not  vengeance  upon  any 
man,  or  class  of  men.  It  is  that,  if  heretofore  we  have  been 
hacking  at  the  trunk  of  slavery,  we  shall  now  resolve  that  we  will 
tear  the  ver}^  roots  of  this  vile  cancer  from  the  bosom  of  the  land. 
It  is  that,  with  your  hands  upon  3'our  hearts,  3'ou  shall  devote 
yourselves  with  solemn  vows  to  the  utter  and  complete  eradica- 
tion of  this  social  curse.  Let  it  breed  no  longer  strife  and  mur- 
der and  conspiracy. 

So  shall  it  come  to  pass,  that  he  who  died  upon  the  day 
when  Christ  himself  was  crucified  afresh  in  tearful  memory  shall 
rise  again,  as   Christ  himself  arose   in  the   new  life   of   such  as 


Rev.  yohn  W.  Chadwick. 


SI 


loved  him,  and  obeyed  his  word.  We  would  not  have  him  rise 
in  any  other  way.  We  could  not  find  it  in  our  hearts  to  tear  him 
from  the  rapt  embraces  of  the  everlasting  peace. 

"  His  voice  is  silent  in  jour  council  hall 
For  ever;  and,  whatever  tempests  lower, 
For  ever  silent;  even  if  they  broke 
In  thunder,  silent :  yet,  remember  all 
He  spoke  among  you,  and  the  man  who  spoke ; 

Who  never  sold  the  truth,  to  serve  the  hour. 
Nor  paltered  with  Eternal  God  for  power ; 
Who  let  the  turbid  streams  of  rumor  flow 
Through  either  babbling  world  of  high  and  low; 
Whose  life  was  work,  whose  language  rife 
With  rugged  maxims  hewn  from  life ; 
Who  never  spoke  against  a  foe. 

And  he  is  gone,  who  seemed  so  great! 

Gone  :  but  nothing  can  bereave  him 

Of  the  force  he  made  his  own 

Being  here ;  and  we  believe  him 

Something  far  advanced  in  states 

And  that  he  wears  a  truer  crown 

Than  any  wreath  that  man  can  weave  him." 


Christian  Inquirer,  May  4. 


LlBRAHy 

UNIVERSITY  OP  Ifftw'^''? 


DEATH    OF   PRESIDENT    LINCOLN: 

A    DISCOURSE    DELIVERED    AT    MILLSTONE,    N.J.,    ON    SUNDAY    MORNING, 

APRIL  1 6,  1S65  ; 
BY    REV.    E.    T.    CORWIN. 


Prov.  xxi.  30:  "There  is  no  wisdom  nor  understanding  nor  counsel  against  the  Lord." 

THE  astounding  intelligence  reached  us  yesterday,  that  the 
President  of  the  United  States  had  been  shot;  and  this 
awful  faft,  with  some  hasty  refle6tions  upon  it,  is  the  only  theme 
upon  which  we  can  fix  our  minds  to-day. 

The  first  thought  is,  that  it  cannot  be  that  our  nation  has  been 
so  disgraced.  In  the  times  of  the  old  Roman  emperors,  it  was  a 
rare  thing  indeed  for  one  of  them  to  die  a  natural  death.  And 
the  reason  of  this  was  to  be  found,  not  only  in  the  ambition  of 
others,  but  in  the  judgment  of  God,  and  the  just  hatred  of  the 
people  whom  they  had  enslaved  and  oppressed.  They  were 
monsters  of  iniquity  and  despotism,  and  aptly  described  in  pro- 
phecy as  beasts,  because  they  were  the  destroyers  and  enemies 
of  mankind,  the  despisers  of  the  rights  of  men.  In  striking  con- 
trast, our  Chief  Magistrate  was  not  the  enslaver,  but  the  free- 
dom-giver to  men.  He  was  a  man  whose  name  will  be  linked,  to 
the  end  of  time,  with  the  great  and  glorious.  Not  theories,  but 
fa6ls,  of  accomplished  emancipation;  looked  upon,  and  truly,  as 


Rev.  E.  T.  Corwin.  £53 


the  man  raised  up  by  Providence  to  condu6l  the  nation  to  a 
higher,  a  nobler,  a  truer  position  before  the  world.  For  we  stood 
as  a  Christian  nation,  the  great  representative  of  Freedom,  though 
portions  of  our  land  had  long  been  disgraced  with  the  sin  of 
slavery.  But  it  was  at  length  almost  utterly,  yea,  virtually,  abol- 
ished. But  just  at  this  time,  the  one  whom  we  thought  raised  up 
to  carry  on  this  glorious  renovation,  to  consummate  the  great 
truth  contained  in  the  first  sentence  of  our  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, "that  all  men  are  born  free  and  equal,"  —  such  a  one, 
not  the  tyrant,  but  the  friend  of  the  oppressed,  and  the  freedom- 
giver  to  the  slave,  has  fallen  by  the  hand  of  the  base  assassin. 
The  land  may  well  go  in  mourning  for  the  loss  of  such  a  one,  and 
for  grief  at  such  a  disgraceful  deed.  Peace  was  just  dawning 
upon  our  desolated  country.  Only  the  day  before,  the  orders  had 
gone  forth,  that  no  more  men  were  needed  for  the  war.  The 
bright  bow  of  promise  was  seen  spanning  the  skies.  Thanksgiv- 
ings from  innumerable  hearts  were  ascending  to  God.  The  na- 
tion was  saved  from  the  blood-stained  hand  of  the  slaveholders' 
rebellion.  It  was  purged  of  its  great  crime.  In  the  words  of 
the  departed,  "  Perhaps  for  every  drop  of  blood  drawn  by  the 
lash,  another  had  been  drawn  by  the  sword."  And  he  whose 
heart  was  foremost  in  the  great  work  which  God  was  accom- 
plishing for  man;  he  whose  mind  had  been  racked  with  many 
a  sleepless  night  becaiise  of  a  nation's  burdens  laid  tipon  it,  who 
had  a  task  of  difficulty  and  responsibility  and  world-wide  inter- 
est, such  as  perhaps  no  other  man  ever  had,  and  who  was  at 
length  thanking  God  for  a  nation's  triumph,  yea,  the  triumph  of 
human  liberty,  and  of  slow  justice  through  the  land,  —  in  the 
very  midst  of  his  joy  is  stricken  down  by  the  hand  of  the  foul 
assassin.     Oh,  how  mysterious  are  the  ways  of  Providence! 

"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 
His  wonders  to  perform." 


54  Death  of  President  Lincoln. 

His  ways  are  not  as  our  ways,  nor  his  thoughts  as  our 
thoughts.  The  good  and  noble  and  intelligent  of  the  earth  are 
ever  working  with  God,  for  the  triumph  of  liberty  and  righteous- 
ness, according  to  the  best  of  their  ability.  But  suddenly,  to 
their  utter  amazement,  instruments  which  seemed  to  be  so  neces- 
sary for  the  accomplishment  of  these  ends  are  removed,  and 
others  substituted  to  finish  the  work.  Such  sudden  turns  of 
Providence  bewilder  our  minds  for  a  moment.  At  first,  the 
thought  of  irretrievable  disaster  flashes  upon  us.  But  a  little  re- 
flexion upon  the  ways  of  God,  and  the  promises  of  his  word,  and 
that  the  throne  of  the  universe  is  occupied  by  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  whose  whole  business  is  to  raise  the  poor  and  the  down- 
trodden, and  to  break  the  rod  of  the  oppressor,  as  it  exists,  and  is 
wielded  in  the  first  place  by  the  Devil  himself,  and  then  by  his 
countless  agents  of  high  and  low  degree  on  earth;  as  we  reflect 
upon  the  fa6l,  that  our  Almighty  and  infinitely  benevolent  Saviour 
is  the  Lord  of  all,  and  that  no  event,  whether  accomplished  by 
good  or  evil  instruments,  is  independent  of  his  wise  and  holy  will, 
—  we  begin  to  understand  that  He  who  doeth  all  things  well,  and 
who  sees  the  end  from  the  beginning,  is  only  accomplishing  the 
same  grand  and  holy  purpose,  for  which  his  people  have  been 
laboring  and  praying  so  long,  in  a  more  thorough  manner  than 
they  had  designed.  For  while  every  Christian  and  loyal  heart 
abhors  the  foul  deed  which  has  been  committed,  and  while  their 
eyes  help  swell  the  river  of  tears  which  this  day  flows  through 
the  land,  yet,  to  the  man  of  faith,  the  glorious  cause  of  Christ 
and  humanity  is  not  injured,  —  no,  is  not  injured,  nor  is  delayed 
for  a  single  day,  by  the  destruction  of  even  such  a  life  as  that  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  For  all  things  must  work  together  for  good 
to  the  cause  of  God,  to  the  cause  of  right,  to  the  cause  of  justice ; 
and  all  these,  as  far  as  they  were  contained  in  national  and  politi- 
cal events  in  our  land,  and  indeed  throughout  the  world,  were 


Rev.  E.  T.  Corwin.  55 


chiefly  centred  in  him.    For  these  holy  causes  are  greatly  involved, 
not  only  in  the  revolutions,  but  even  in  the  politics,  of  the  present 
day.     It   has   no   doubt  often  been  true,  that  politics,  when  con- 
cerned simply  w^ith  questions  of  tariff"  and  commerce  and  such 
like  things,  were  fairly  open  questions  for  honest  Christian  differ- 
ences; and  often  indeed  it  was  no  easy  thing  to  decide  strictly  as 
to  duty.     But  every  intelligent  and  unprejudiced  man,  (but,  alas ! 
how  much  mischief  has  mere  prejudice  and  partisanship  wrought 
in   the  world!)   if  he  make  himself  sufficiently  acquainted  with 
current   events  to   understand  them  in  their  great  moral  signifi- 
cancy,  could  not  fail  to  see,  that,  for  several  years  past,  a  disunion 
(not  yet  by  any  means  perfe6l,  but  progressing),  that  a  division, 
like  that  of  the  future  sheep  and  goats,  has  been  going  on.    Right- 
eousness  or  iniquity,  which    should   prevail?    has  been  the  real 
question,  though  not  in  just  so  bald  a  form.     Truth  or  error,  lib- 
erty or  oppression,  Christ  or  Satan,  —  these  are  the  real  and  simple 
issues  in  the  great  political,  moral  questions  of  the  present  day. 
The   lines  are  becoming  each  year  more  clearly  marked.     The 
friends  of  Christ   and  of  mankind  are   each  year   coming  more 
closely  together.     There  are,  indeed,  many  of  the  true  friends  of 
Christ,  by  some  sad  mistake,  by  want  of  refle6lion  or  understand- 
ing, by  family  connections  sometimes,  or  by  want   of  prayer  for 
divine  direction,  who  are  yet,  alas!   mingled  with  the  friends  of 
Satan.     It  seems  impossible  to  understand,  how,  sometimes,  men 
of  intelligence  and  unquestioned  piety  can  take  such  a  false   or 
even   neutral  position.     And  it  is  just  as  true,  alas!  that  many, 
who,  by   unregeneracy   of  heart,   are   the   friends   of  Satan,   are 
found  in  these  great  political  divisions  with  the  friends   of  Christ. 
But  these  political   divisions  will  each  year  become  more  clearly 
defined.     Babylon,  in  prophetic   language,  is   a  name  which   de- 
scribes the  whole  policy  and  organization  of  the  cause  of  iniquity; 
and    to    those    who    should    find    themselves    inhabitants  of  that 


56  Dmth  of  President  Lincoln. 

wicked  place,  that  is,  the  unconscious  or  unwilling  allies  of  evil, 
to  them  God  speaks  in  kindness  and  in  love  (Rev.  xviii.  14), 
"  Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  be  not  partakers  of  her 
sins,  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her  plagues."  It  is  addressed  to 
those  especially  who  lived  at  the  time  of,  and  since,  the  Reforma- 
tion, and  who  might,  by  some  perchance,  find  themselves  in  the 
company  of  those  beasts  described  in  that  book,  or,  in  other 
words,  in  league  with  ecclesiastical  or  civil  oppression,  and  conse- 
quent error,  in  any  of  its  plagues  of  development.  And  it  is 
because  the  Church  of  Christ  in  general  understands  these  events, 
that  the  Christian  can  lift  up  his  head,  under  apparently  the  most 
adverse  circumstances,  and  rejoice;  believing,  jj/^«,  knowings  that 
the  cause  he  loves  so  well,  not  for  its  own  sake  merely,  but  chiefly 
because  of  its  connection  with  the  great  and  glorious  work  of 
Christ,  —  hence  it  is,  I  say,  that  the  Christian,  when  the  standard- 
bearers  of  liberty  are  for  a  moment  stricken  down,  can  yet  ex- 
claim, "  He  doetli  all  things  well."  For  what  the  prophet  says 
of  Christ,  and  therefore  of  his  people,  must  be  fulfilled:  "He 
shall  not  fail  nor  be  discouraged,  till  he  have  set  justice  in  the 
earth."  For  the  cause  of  right,  of  liberty,  of  God,  whether  con- 
sidered in  its  more  stri6tly  religious,  or  in  its  more  external  and 
national  aspect,  must  conquer.  It  is  not  dependent  upon  the  life 
of  one  man.  It  is  not  dependent  upon  the  lives  of  even  a  million 
of  the  best  and  most  virtuous  men  now  alive.  They  might  all  be 
destroyed,  and  such  a  cause  w^ould  only  take  heart  from  their 
destruction,  and  go  on  with  greater  success.  The  blood  of  the 
martyrs  was  the  seed  of  the  Church.  How  often  did  the  despots 
of  Europe,  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  put  to  death  the  friends  of 
God,  and  the  defenders  of  human  liberty !  But  did  they  kill  the 
cause?  Oh,  no!  The  cause  of  truth  can  never  die.  Disciples 
arose  in  their  places  more  numerous  than  the  slain,  until  the 
thoughts  of  those  martyrs  of  God  and  of  Liberty  crystallized  into 


Rev.  E.  T.  Corwin.  57 


our  orlorious  Constitution.  And  now  that  so  o^reat  an  effort  as  the 
slaveholders'  rebellion,  entirely  satanic  in  its  origin  and  nature, 
has  been  made  at  its  very  life,  and  which  has  been  so  greedily 
seconded  by  the  aristocrats  and  tyrants  of  Europe,  yet  could  it 
kill  this  noble  life,  containing  as  it  does  the  cause  of  both  God 
and  man?  Impossible!  We  see  already  the  rebellion  in  its  death- 
throes.  We  see  the  glorious  dawn  of  peace.  Hallelujahs  are 
ascending  from  our  hearts.  And  now  that  the  representative  man 
of  freedom  in  the  West  (as  the  Czar  of  Russia  has  so  unexpect- 
edly become  in  the  East)  has  been  foully  murdered,  does  it 
injure  the  noble  old  cause  against  which  the  dragon  has  already 
launched  so  many  blows  ?  Not  in  the  least.  It  will  prove,  as  the 
end  no  doubt  will  show,  a  great  blessing  to  the  cause.  Men  may 
die;  Satan  may  let  loose  his  agents  upon  them:  but  the  cause 
still  lives.     It  is  as  immortal  as  our  Elder  Brother  on  the  throne. 

Universal  freedom  and  brotherhood  will  only  be  the  more 
surely,  and  perhaps  the  more  rapidly,  accomplished.  The  gos- 
pel shall  more  speedily  have  free  course,  and  be  glorified.  The 
wrath  of  man  shall  praise  Him;  and  the  remainder  He  will 
restrain. 

It  is  a  sad  event,  indeed,  which  has  happened,  —  a  disgraceful 
event;  probably  a6tuated  by  nothing  higher  than  the  plotted 
revenge  of  a  few  individuals,  at  the  failure  of  their  bad  cause. 
But  it  is  the  fool  who  says,  that  revenge  is  sweet.  God  has  said, 
that  sin  is  a  bitter  thing.  The  deluded  murderer,  as  well  as  his 
instigators  and  accomplices,  will,  no  doubt,  soon  be  in  the  hands 
of  justice,  and  then  in  the  hands  of  an  angry  God.  David  would 
not  kill  Saul,  when  he  had  him  in  his  power,  though  Saul  was  a 
wicked  man,  and  God  had  specially  promised  the  throne  to 
David.  But  he  in  his  piety  declared,  "  I  will  not  lift  up  my  hand 
against  the  Lord's  anointed."  Saul  was  God's  vicegerent  on 
earth,  as  a  king,  to  administer  justice  among  men,  though  wicked 

8 


58  Death  of  President  Lincoln. 

and  unworthy.  But  here  was  one,  who  was  likewise  God's  vice- 
gerent to  administer  justice  and  truth,  who  was  literally,  what 
every  ruler  ought  to  be,  no  respe6ter  of  persons;  who  had 
stricken  off  the  shackles  from  the  slave;  and  yet,  alas!  by  the 
hands  of  a  poor  deluded  man,  who  could  not  raise  his  mind  to 
grasp  the  glory  of  the  great  evolving  problems  of  humanity, 
because  he  himself  was  a  slave  of  Satan,  —  by  such  a  man  is  the 
noble  President,  the  Great  Emancipator,  basely  murdered.  Slan- 
ders and  calumnies  the  good  ever  expe6l  to  bear;  and  these, 
though  innumerable,  he  deemed  never  worthy  a  moment's  atten- 
tion. But  who  would  have  believed  (the  good  President  could 
not)  that  one  who  called  himself  an  American  citizen  could 
have  been  so  fiendish  as  this?  But  Satan  ever  overshoots  the 
mark.  Even  the  plans  of  wicked  men  are  under  the  control  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  friend  of  the  sinful  and  the  captive. 
Long  have  the  friends  of  liberty  prayed  that  he  would  turn  the 
counsel  of  the  wricked  into  foolishness.  We  have  seen  how  he 
has  done  this,  b}'  permitting  the  slaveholders  to  rebel,  and  who 
have  thus  destroyed  their  cherished  institution,  and  put  them- 
selves completely  in  the  power  of  those  whom  they  call  their 
enemies,  but,  in  fa6t,  who  were  only  the  enemies  of  their  wicked- 
ness. And  now,  by  this  last  most  abominable  of  deeds,  they 
have  only  sunk  their  cause  still  lower,  and  injured  it  more  irre- 
mediably. The  departed  President's  fault,  if  such  it  might  be 
called,  was  his  extreme  leniency,  his  kindness  of  heart.  For 
look  at  the  terms,  which  he  no  doubt  approved  of,  if  he  did  not 
suggest,  which  General  Grant  has  offered  to  General  Lee.  The 
country  was  surprised  at  them.  And  this  is  but  one  illustration 
of  his  whole  career.  Indeed,  many  good  men  feared  that  he 
might  yet  endanger  the  Republic  by  excessive  clemency;  that 
the  great  cause  of  liberty  was  in  peril  from  very  kindness  to  its 
foes.     But  they  have  murdered  this  kind-hearted  and  good  man. 


Rev.  E.  T.  Corwin.  59 


who  had  done  them  no  wrong;  who  had  fairly  been  ele6ted,  by  a 
vast  majority  of  the  people,  a  second  time;  who,  by  his  severe 
labors  to  save  the  nation,  and  to  maintain  and  extend  the  cause 
of  human  liberty,  was,  in  very  fa6t,  spending  himself  for  their 
benefit,  and  the  benefit  of  their  posterity,  though,,  in  their  blind- 
ness and  wickedness,  they  could  not  see  it.  They  have  murdered 
this  man,  who  would  only  have  been  too  good  to  them  with  their 
restoration  to  the  Union.  And  now  a  man  of  iron  sternness 
succeeds  him,  whose  mercy  towards  the  leaders,  at  least,  will 
surely  be  far  less;  from  whom  they  may  expe6l  justice  rather 
than  mercy.  God  saw  this  to  be  necessary  in  finishing  up  this 
great  rebellion.  He  saw  that  that  good  and  kind-hearted  man 
would  not  be  the  one  for  this  work;  and  he  has  taken  him  away. 
And,  though  the  first  sad  news  shocked,  every  faithful  heart,  yet 
it  is  only  in  order  to  secure  the  triumph,  more  utterly  to  destroy 
the  evil  course.  It  is  only  to  forward,  by  other  and  sterner 
instrumentalities  which  he  had  at  hand,  the  great  struggle  in 
which  Christ  and  his  people  are  engaged.  The  gospel  can  never 
have  free  course,  until  the  t3^rants  and  oppressors  of  men  are 
destroyed.  Liberty  is  the  forerunner  of  the  gospel.  The  gospel, 
after  it  had  been  planted  by  the  apostles,  begat  liberty,  as  her 
strong  and  sturdy  son,  —  the  man-child  who,  ultimately,  should 
go  before  her,  to  prepare  her  way.  The  gospel,  pure  and  true, 
after  occasional  great  triumphs,  yet  could  only,  in  general,  live  in 
secret,  till  her  own  offspring  grew  to  strength  (especially  exem- 
plified in  our  nation),  and  who,  by  his  strong  and  herculean  arms, 
should  strike  down  the  opponents,  and  say  to  the  heralds  of  the 
gospel,  "  Enter  in :  the  way  is  prepared :  proclaim  ye  the  accept- 
able year  of  the  Lord,  and  the  day  of  vengeance  of  our  God." 
And  now  a  man  of  iron  sternness  holds  the  reins  which  are  to 
secure  the  cause  of  liberty  and  God,  and  who  is  to  draw  the 
rebels  back  to  their  proper  place  in  the  Union  (which  they  shall 


6o  Death  of  President  Lmcoln. 


not  destroy),  or  who  will  mete  out  to  them,  if  they  persevere  in 
their  wickedness,  the  just  deserts  of  their  crimes. 

The  part  which  Providence  designed  our  lamented  President 
to  play,  he  had  completed.  Little  did  he  or  any  one  think,  that 
his  work  was  go  near  done.  But  he  had  fulfilled  well  his  part. 
His  name  will  ever  stand  by  the  side  of  that  of  Washington.  He 
has  completed  virtually  the  work  which  Washington  begun. 
We  have  only,  as  yet,  passed  through  the  introdu6lory  chapter  of 
our  nation's  history,  during  the  last  few  years  of  which,  the  noble 
cause  has  been  purged  of  the  dross  which  necessarily,  and  to 
their  mortification,  adhered  to  it  as  it  came  from  the  hands  of  the 
fathers.  It  has  passed  through  the  furnace  heated  seven-fold, 
and  must  come  out  purified  and  refined.  No  longer  will  the 
theories  and  the  fa6ts  of  our  government  confli6l;  but,  henceforth, 
all  who  tread  the  soil  of  our  country  will  be  free  men :  and  thus 
only  will  our  Republic  be  prepared  to  take  part  consistently  in 
the  yet  future  confli6t  upon  the  remaining  oppressors  of  mankind 
in  other  lands.  For  God  undoubtedly  intends  to  use  us  in  this 
pouring-out  of  some  of  the  latter  vials  of  wrath  upon  his  ene- 
mies. Not  only  has  our  war  purged  us  of  our  chief  sin,  but  has 
drilled  us  for  the  greater,  not  only  national  but  international, 
confli6t,  and  liberty's  universal  victory. 

And  here  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  allude  to  the  religious  char- 
after  of  our  beloved  and  respected  Chief  Magistrate.  President 
Lincoln  is  well  known  to  have  been  a  praying  man.  When  he 
left  his  village  home  to  go  to  Washington,  more  than  four  years 
ago,  and  his  fellow-citizens  bade  him  farewell,  as  he  stood  on  the 
rear  platform  of  the  train,  his  last  words  to  them  were,  "  Pray  for 
me."  And  did  ever  man  need  a  nation's  pra3'ers  more?  On  the 
morning  of  his  first  inauguration,  he  rose  early,  and  retired  to  a 
secret  place,  and  prayed  that  God  would  enable  him  to  do  his 
duty  in  the  great  task  laid  upon  him.     And  yet,  perhaps,  all  this 


Rev.  E.  T.  Corwin.  6i 


time,  he  was  not  a  Christian.  All  his  proclamations,  however, 
seem  to  be  redolent  with  piety,  and  far  superior,  in  this  respeft, 
to  most,  if  not  all,  his  predecessors,  till  we  come  to  Washington. 
But,  less  than  a  year  ago,  a  man  from  a  Western  State  had  busi- 
ness with  the  President,  and,  after  it  had  been  transacted,  told 
him  that  he  had  a  question  to  ask  him,  at  the  solicitation  of  some 
Christian  friends.  The  question  was,  "  Do  you  love  yestis  ? " 
The  President  burst  into  tears,  and  buried  his  face  in  his  hand- 
kerchief, and,  for  a  time,  could  not  speak.  But,  oh!  how  precious 
to  us  that  we  have  this  record  of  his  religious  experience!  He 
at  length  said,  "  When  I  left  Springfield,  I  said  to  my  fellow-citi- 
zens, ^  Pray  for  me ; '  but  I  was  not  then  a  Christian.  When  my 
child  died,  soon  after  I  entered  upon  my  office,  my  heart  was  still 
rebellious  against  God.  I  was  not  then  a  Christian.  But,  when 
I  walked  the  battle-field  of  Gettysburg,  and  saw  the  wounded  and 
the  dying,  and  felt,  that,  by  that  victory,  our  cause  was  saved,  I 
then  and  there  resolved,  and  gave  my  heart  to  Jesus.  /  do  love 
yesMsP  This  is  the  testimony  of  his  own  lips  upon  his  religious 
life;  and  is  it  not  sufficient?  Millions  of  loyal  hearts  and  of 
freedmen  have  often  prayed  that  God  would  bless  that  man  with 
his  grace.  Often  have  I  prayed  in  private,  and  in  my  family,  as 
well  as  in  public,  that  the  faith  of  Christ  might  not  be  lacking  to 
him.  And  could  it  be,  it  might  well  be  asked,  that  so  many 
prayers,  especially  from  the  thousands  of  slaves  whose  freedom 
will  ever  be  associated  with  his  name,  —  could  it  be  that  all  their 
prayers  could  have  been  unanswered  ?  This  testimony,  from  the 
President's  own  lips,  proves  that  they  were  answered :  "  On  that 
blood-stained  field,  I  gave  my  heart  to  God.     I  do  love  Jesus." 

We  mourn  for  the  man.  We  hide  our  faces  in  shame  at  the 
awful  crime  which  deprived  him  of  his  life.  But  we  will  still 
rejoice,  as  we  remember  that  the  cause  of  God  and  of  liberty  can 
never  die.     Men  may  die;  but  it  is  said  of  Christ,  "And  He  shall 


62 


Death  of  President  Lincoln. 


live  "  (Ps.  Ixxii.)  ;  and  this  is  necessarily  true  also  of  the  cause 
which  he  represents.  The  wrath  of  man  shall  only  hasten  in  the 
triumph  of  the  cause  of  truth,  and  the  complete  destru6tion  of 
the  powers  of  iniquity.  But,  in  view  of  this  solemn  providence, 
the  practical  question  is,  which  let  each  man  ask  himself  sin- 
cerely, as  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  as  he  will  answer  it  at  the  last 
great  day,  —  let  each  man  ask  himself,  whether,  hitherto,  in  his 
politics  on  these  great  moral  questions,  he  has  been  the  servant 
of  Christ  or  of  the  Devil  ?     For  there  is  no  middle  ground. 

Somerset  Unionist^  Somerville,  N.y.,  May  i8,  1865. 


GOD    PUTTETH    DOWN    ONE,    AND    SETTETH    UP 

ANOTHER: 

A  SERMON  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  PREACHED  IN  THE  SEA- 
MEN'S  CHAPEL,  HONOLULU,  MAY  14,  THE  FIRST  SABBATH  AFTER  RE- 
CEIVING   THE    SAD    INTELLIGENCE    OF    HIS    ASSASSINATION  ; 

BY   REV.    S.   C.   DAMON. 


Psalm  Ixxv.  7  :  "  But  God  is  the  judge :  he  putteth  down  one,  and  se.tteth  up  another." 
John  xiii.  7  :  "  What  I  do,  thou  knowest  not  now;  but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter." 

IN  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  this  world,  God  is  ever 
doing  and  permitting  things  to  be  done,  the  reasons  for  which 
cannot  be  seen  by  short-sighted  mortals.  Such  is  God's  method 
of  proceeding,  that  we  are  continually  compelled  to  take  many 
things  on  trust.  Faith  in  him  is  the  great  lesson  which  he  is 
ever  teaching  mankind.  He  has  drawn  an  impenetrable  veil 
before  our  eyes,  shutting  out  the  future  from  .our  view.  "  Ye 
know  not  what  shall  be  on  the  morrow,"  or  "  what  a  day  may 
bring  forth."  How  impressively  these  scriptural  declarations, 
and  those  of  my  text,  are  illustrated  by  events  which  have 
recently  transpired  on  the  other  side  of  the  globe!  All  the  loyal 
people  of  that  great  country,  stretching  from  the  shores  of  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  from  the  Gulf  to  the  Lakes,  were 
preparing  for  such  a  day  of  thanksgiving  and  jubilee,  as  never 
had   been  witnessed  on  the  Western   Continent.      The   national 


64  God piittcth  dow7i  One,  and  settcth  2ip  Another. 

feeling,  which  during  four  years  of  civil  war  had  been  repressed, 
was  rising,  and  about  to  burst  forth  in  such  scenes  and  shouts  of 
rejoicing,  as  would  have  made  the  "welkin  ring."  The  dove 
of  peace,  which  had,  during  those  four  long  years,  been  confined 
to  the  ark,  rocked  and  tossed  upon  the  troubled  waters  of  civil 
strife,  political  contentions,  and  cruel  w^ar,  had  now  been  re- 
leased, and,  with  the  olive  branch  in  her  mouth,  was  winging  her 
flight  over  mountains  and  valleys,  broad  savannas  and  boundless 
prairies.  The  good  news  was  flashed  with  lightning  speed  over 
the  land  and  the  world.  The  dark  clouds  were  rolling  away, 
and  the  sun  of  the  nation's  glory  was  beginning  to  shine;  and  the 
rainbow  of  peace  was  distinftly  seen  spanning  a  continent,  as  in 
days  of  yore,  —  when,  lo!  from  the  receding  black  clouds  of 
secession,  treachery,  and  slavery,  there  darted  forth  a  fiendish 
arm,  holding  in  its  hand  an  assassin's  dagger.  The  whole  scene 
is  instantly  changed.  For  a  moment,  the  pulse  and  heart  of  the 
nation  cease  to  beat;  but,  the  next  instant,  there  follows  a  sigh  of 
anguish  and  wail  of  sorrow.  Abraham  Lincoln,  our  beloved 
President,  is  dead!  I  do  not  believe,  since  the  creation  of  the 
world,  so  many  hearts,  in  so  short  a  space  of  time,  ever  mourned 
over  the  death  of  a  single  human  being.  There  is  no  disputing 
or  gainsaying  the  fa6l,  Abraham  Lincoln  had  gradually  been 
winning  for  himself  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  the  American  people, 
second  only  to  that  of  Washington,  the  Father  of  his  country. 
But  will  not  the  people  now  call  him  the  Saviour  of  the  coun- 
try, when  the  life  of  the  nation  was  threatened? 

This  most  tragic  event  is  not  an  accident;  it  is  not  the  w^ork 
of  chance.  We  do  not  live  in  a  world  ruled  over  by  blind  fate. 
Never  before  did  I  realize  there  was  so  much  force  and  intensity 
of  meaning  in  those  words  of  our  Saviour,  "But  the  very  hairs 
of  your  head  are  all  numbered,"  and  even  a  sparrow  "  shall  not 
fall  on  the  ground  without  your  Father."     I  do  not  think  there 


Rev.  S.  C.  Damon.  65 


ever  was  a  public  man  who  recognized  more  clearly  and  fully  this 
do6trine  of  God's  special  providence,  than  did  our  lamented 
President.  Gathered  as  we  now  are  in  the  house  of  God,  on  this 
first  sabbath  morning  after  having  received  the  news  of  his  death, 
how  can  I  more  appropriately  employ  the  usual  time  allotted  to  a 
discourse,  than  by  dire6ling  your  minds  to  some  of  those  moral 
and  spiritual  lessons  taught  by  this  most  sad  and  melancholy 
event.  The  telegraphic  intelligence  which  has  reached  the 
Islands  is  quite  sufficient  to  disclose  the  naked  fa6ts,  but  insuffi- 
cient to  portray  the  effe6ls  upon  the  country  at  large.  Under 
these  circumstances,  perhaps  I  may  be  allowed  to  dwell  upon  the 
religious  features  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  character.  He  was  a  public 
man,  and  had  been  called  to  occupy  a  most  responsible  and  try- 
ing public  position.  He  fully  realized  this  fa6l,  from  the  very 
moment  that  he  stepped  forth  from  the  sphere  of  a  private 
American  citizen  to  occupy  the  highest  position  within  the  gift  of 
his  countrymen.  His  brief  address,  on  leaving  his  home  at 
Springfield,  111.,  is  inimitably  beautiful:  "My  friends,  no  one 
not  in  my  position  can  appreciate  the  sadness  I  feel  at  this  part- 
ing. To  this  people,  I  owe  all  that  I  am.  Here  I  have  lived 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century;  here  my  children  were  born; 
and  here  one  of  them  lies  buried.  I  know  not  how  soon  I  shall 
see  you  again.  A  duty  devolves  upon  me,  which  is,  perhaps, 
greater  than  that  which  has  devolved  upon  any  other  man  since 
the  days  of  Washington.  He  never  would  have  succeeded 
except  for  the  aid  of  divine  Providence,  upon  which  he  at  all 
times  relied.  I  feel  that  I  cannot  succeed  without  the  same 
divine  aid  which  sustained  him;  and,  on  the  same  Almighty 
Being,  I  place  my  reliance  for  support.  I  hope  you,  my  friends, 
will  pray  that  I  may  receive  that  divine  assistance,  without  which 
I  cannot  succeed,  but  with  which  success  is  certain.  I  bid  you 
all  an  afte6tionate  farewell." 

9 


66  God pntteth  dotvn  One,  mid  setteth  up  Another. 

During  the  delivery  of  this  short  address,  the  audience  was 
much  affe6led;  and,  when  it  closed,  there  was  the  hearty  re- 
sponse, "  We  will  pray  for  you."  During  his  progress  to 
Washington,  he  uttered  similar  sentiments  at  Columbus  and 
Steubenville,  in  Ohio,  ever  expressing  the  hope  that  he  should  be 
sustained  by  the  prayers  of  the  American  people.  In  this  ad- 
dress, we  have  the  key-note  to  all  his  subsequent  addresses,  let- 
ters, proclamations,  and  public  documents.  I  cannot  recall  a 
single  one  in  which  he  did  not  fully  and  frankly  recognize  God's 
agency  in  the  management  of  the  atiairs  of  this  world.  His 
allusions  to  an  overruling  Providence  were  not  in  a  half-apolo- 
gistic  and  semi-infidel  style,  as  if  he  wished  to  conciliate  the 
feelings  of  Christians,  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  had  no  \Q.ry 
clear  and  definite  idea  of  what  he  was  saying  or  writing.  Read 
his  second  Inaugural,  on  the  fourth  of  last  March.  The  staunch- 
est  and  most  orthodox  divine  could  not  have  given  utterance  to 
more  evangelical  doctrines  or  religious  sentiments.  He  quotes 
and  comments  upon  the  very  words  of  our  divine  Saviour,  in  the 
eighteenth  chapter  of  Matthew:  "Woe  unto  the  world  because 
of  offences."  Then,  too,  with  what  masterly  emphasis  he  quotes 
the  words  of  the  Psalmist  David,  prefacing,  "  If  God  w^ills  that 
the  war  continue  until  all  the  wealth  piled  by  the  bondmen's  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until 
every  drop  of  blood  drawn  with  the  lash  shall  be  paid  by  another 
drawn  with  the  sword,  as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so 
still  it  must  be  said,  ^  The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  « 
righteous  altogether.' "  Noble  utterances  and  sublime  language, 
which  will  live  as  long  as  the  English  language  shall  be  spoken! 
Such  truthful  sayings  v^^ill  go  forth  from  the  Chief  Magistrate  of 
a  great  people,  to  break  asunder  the  fetters  of  slavery  throughout 
the  world.  His  name  through  all  coming  time  will  be  associated 
with  that  most  important  of  all  his  State  documents,  —  his  Eman- 


Rev.  S.  C.  Damon.  67 


cipation  Proclamation.  It  may  well  be  compared  with  the  Impe- 
rial Ukase  of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  giving  liberty  to  twenty 
millions  of  Russian  serfs.  From  the  time  and  circumstances 
under  which  it  was  issued,  it  must  ever  be  viewed  as  marking 
the  transition  point  from  slavery  to  freedom,  in  the  history  of  the 
Republic  of  America.  I  cannot  stop  to  dwell  upon  Mr.  Lincoln's 
efforts  and  labors  in  behalf  of  the  slaves  and  the  colored  people 
of  America.  It  was  noble  and  philanthropic;  and  it  doubtless 
afforded  him  unfeigned  pleasure,  during  the  latter  months  of  his 
eventful  life,  to  learn,  in  so  many  ways,  that  they  appreciated  his 
services.  This  was  apparent  when  he  received  a  copy  of  the 
Holy  Bible  from  the  loyal  colored  people  of  Baltimore,  as  a  token 
of  respeft  and  gratitude.  They  hailed  him  as  the  '"'"  friend  of 
universal  freedom."  It  never  will  be  known  in  time,  how  many 
millions  of  earnest  prayers  went  up  for  "  Massa  Linkum  "  from 
the  Uncle-Tom  cabins  scattered  all  over  the  Slave  States,  from  the 
Potomac  to  the  Rio  Grande.  Those  sincere  but  enslaved  people 
took  hold  of  the  Arm  that  sustained  the  universe.  America 
stands  forth  to-day  disinthralled  and  saved,  not  merely  by  the 
achievements  of  our  noble  soldiers,  and  the  masterly  statesman- 
ship of  our  Cabinet  Ministers,  Senators,  and  Representatives,  but 
there  was  a  power  behind  all  these  outward  manifestations. 
That  power  was  prayer,  —  the  prayers,  too,  of  the  poor.  Says  the 
son  of  Sirach,  "  A  prayer  out  of  a  poor  man's  mouth  reacheth 
to  the  ears  of  God,  and  his  judgment  cometh  speedily."  —  "He 
will  hear  the  prayer  of  the  oppressed."  — "  The  prayer  of  the 
humble  pierceth  the  clouds;  and,  till  it  come  nigh,  he  will  not  be 
comforted,  and  will  not  depart  till  the  Most  High  shall  behold  to 
judge  righteously,  and  execute  judgment."  Mr.  Lincoln  recog- 
nized that  power  of  prayer,  as  I  have  already  shown,  when  he  left 
his  home  for  the  White  House  at  Washington. 

How  intensely  interesting  the  fa6l,  that,  while  he  was  thus 


68  God puttcth  dozvn  One.,  and  setteth  up  Aiiother. 

occupied  with  the  great  and  momentous  affairs  of  thirty  millfons 
of  people,  —  of  whom  four  or  five  milHons  were  in  open  rebel- 
lion, and  a  million  more  were  girded  as  soldiers,  —  yet,  even 
amidst  all  these  cares,  he  did  not  negle6t  the  poor  who  were  his 
neighbors,  as  the  following  incident  will  show:  — 

A  newspaper  correspondent  from  Chicago  one  day  dropped 
in  upon  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  found  him  busy  counting  greenbacks. 
"  This,  sir,"  said  the  President,  in  his  cheerful  way,  "  is  something 
out  of  my  usual  line;  but  a  President  of  the  United  States  has  a 
multiplicity  of  duties  not  specified  in  the  Constitution,  or  A6ts  of 
Congress.  This  is  one  of  them.  This  money  belongs  to  a  poor 
negro,  who  is  porter  in  one  of  the  Departments  (the  Treasur}'), 
who  is  at  present  ill  with  the  small-pox.  He  is  now  in  the  hos- 
pital, and  could  not  draw  his  pay  because  he  could  not  sign  his 
name.  I  have  been  at  considerable  trouble  to  overcome  the 
difficulty,  and  get  it  for  him,  and  have  at  length  succeeded  in 
cutting  red  tape,  as  your  newspaper  men  say.  I  am  now  dividing 
the  money,  and  putting  by  a  portion  labelled,  in  an  envelope,  with 
my  own  hands,  according  to  his  wish."  Such  unostentatious  a6ts 
of  kindness  need  no  comment.  Our  Saviour  said,  when  upon 
earth,  "And  whosoever  shall  give  to  drink  unto  one  of  these  little 
ones  a  cup  of  cold  water  onl}^,  in  the  name  of  a  disciple,  verily  I 
say  unto  you,  he  shall  in  no  w^ise  lose  his  reward."  I  doubt  not 
that  the  good  man  is  now  reaping  his  reward  in  glory  for  be- 
friending the  poor  colored  porter  who  could  not  write  his  name, — 
sick  with  the  small-pox  in  the  hospital.  It  is  an  interesting  faft, 
that  the  American  citizen,  at  home  and  abroad,  however  humble 
his  lot,  was  not  forgotten  by  him.  When  it  was  reported  at 
Washington,  through  the  correspondence  of  our  minister,  to  Mr. 
Seward,  that  a  sailor  had  been  ill-treated  at  the  Marquesas  Is- 
lands, Mr.  Lincoln  immediately  dire6ts,  that  five  hundred  dollars 
in  gold  be  devoted  to  the  purchase  of  presents,  to  be  distributed 


Rev.  S.  C.  Damon.  69 


among  Hawaiian  missionaries,  and  others,  who  had  rescued  the 
unfortunate  man. 

It  is  an  interesting  fa6l,  that  the  very  last  public  address  which 
Mr.  Lincoln  ever  made,  March  17,  was  in  reference  to  colored 
soldiers  being  employed  by  the  rebels.  He  remarked,  that  he 
hoped  the}^  would  try  the  experiment.  In  all  his  efforts  in  behalf 
of  the  colored  people  of  America,  he  has  endeavored  to  manage 
the  subje6l  with  an  enlightened  regard  to  the  highest  Christian 
duty  to  his  country  and  to  God.  Having  shown  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  a6luated,  as  a  public  officer,  by  Christian  principle,  I  am  fully 
confident  that  he  was  truly  an  experimental  Christian,  one  whose 
Christianity  did  not  begin  and  end  in  a  mere  formal  acknowledg- 
ment of  divine  Providence.  The  followifig  incident  is  reported 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Adams,  a  Presbyterian  minister  of  Philadelphia. 
He  was  on  a  visit  to  Washington,  and  had  made  an  appointment 
to  call  upon  the  President  at  the  White  House,  at  five  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  Says  Mr.  Adams,  "  Morning  came,  and  I  hastened 
my  toilet,  and  found  myself  at  a  quarter  to  five  in  the  waiting- 
room  of  the  President.  I  asked  the  usher  if  I  could  see  Mr. 
Lincoln.  He  said  I  could  not.  ^  But  I  have  an  engagement  to 
meet  him  this  morning.'  —  ^  At  what  hour?  '  —  ^  At  five  o'clock.' 
^Well,  sir,  he  will  see  you  at  five.'  I  then  walked  to  and  fro 
for  a  few  minutes,  and,  hearing  a  voice,  as  if  in  grave  conversa- 
tion, I  asked  the  servant,  ^  Who  is  talking  in  the  next  room  ? ' 
^  It  is  the  President,  sir.'  —  "^  Is  anybody  with  him?'  —  "^  No,  sir,  he 
is  reading  the  Bible.' — ^Is  that  his  habit  so  early  in  the  morn- 
ing?'— ^Yes,  sir,  he  spends  every  morning  from  four  o'clock  to 
five  in  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  praying.' "  How  beautiful 
an  illustration  this  is  of  the  injun6lion  of  our  Saviour,  "  But 
thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  closet,  and  pray  to  thy 
Father  which  is  in  secret"!  How  beautiful  an  instance  of 
one  who  followed  our  Saviour's  devotional  Imbit,  who,  "  in  the 


70  God piiticth  down  07te,  and  setteth  up  Another, 

morning,   rising    up    a   great   while   before   da}',"   went    out    and 
prayed !  * 

"  Prayer,  ardent,  opens  heaven,  lets  down  a  stream 
Of  glory  on  the  consecrated  hour 
Of  man,  in  audience  with  the  Deitj'." 

The  following  incident,  however,  sets  forth  Mr.  Lincoln's 
views  upon  the  question  of  vital  godliness,  in  the  very  strongest 
light.  Several  months  before  his  ever-to-be-lamented  death,  a 
gentleman  called  upon  him  on  business.  After  the  business  was 
closed,  and  they  were  about  to  part,  the  gentleman  said  to  the 
President,  "  On  leaving  home,  a  friend  requested  me  to  ask  Mr. 
Lincoln  whether  he  loved  Jesus."  The  gentleman  makes  the 
following  report:  "The  President  buried  his  face  in  his  handker- 
chief, turned  away,  and  wept.  He  then  turned  and  said,  ^When 
I  left  home  to  take  the  Chair  of  State,  I  requested  my  country- 
men to  pray  for  me.  I  was  not  then  a  Christian.  When  my  son 
died,  —  the  severest  trial  of  my  life,  —  I  was  not  a  Christian. 
But  when  I  went  to  Gett3'sburg,  and  looked  upon  the  graves  of 
our  dead  heroes,  who  had  fallen  in  defence  of  their  country,  I 
then  and  there  consecrated  myself  to  Christ.  /  do  love  Jcsus^  " 
This  simple  and  touching  confession  needs  no  comment.  It 
opens  to  the  world  the  heart  and  religious  experience  of  the  good 
man.  The  people  felt  that  he  was  honest  in  all  his  dealings  with 
them,  and  so  he  was  equally  honest  with  himself  and  God. 
These  few  simple  utterances,  w^elling  up  from  the  depths  of  his 
heart,  and  accompanied  with  tears,  will  ever  be  cherished  by 
Christians  of  every  name  and  se6t  as  the  most  precious  sa3'ings 
of  his  life.  They  touch  the  tenderest  chord  in  the  Christian's 
heart.  Christians  of  every  name  will  ever  regard  him  as  a 
brother  beloved,  but  departed;  and,  when  thinking  of  him  as 
departed,  the  language  of  the  burial  service  will  not  be  inap- 
propriate:  "It   hath   pleased   Almighty  God,  in   his  wise   provi- 


Rev.  S.  C.  Damon. 


71 


dence,    to    take    out    of   this    world    the    soul    of   our    deceased 
brother:" 

Think  not,  my  hearers,  that  I  have  brought  forward  these 
fa6ls  and  incidents  in  the  life  of  our  lamented  President,  because 
I  think  it  requires  an  argument  in  the  style  of  special  pleading  to 
prove  his  adherence  to  the  principles  of  Christianity,  and  the 
do6lrines  of  the  New  Testament.  No:  his  Christian,  as  well 
as  his  public  and  political,  chara6ter  is  known  and  read  of  all 
men.  With  him,  there  was  no  reserve  or  concealment.  His 
chara6ler  was  perfe6tly  transparent.  His  faults,  as  well  as  his 
virtues,  were  equally  apparent;  — 

"  And  e'en  his  failings  leaned  to  virtue's  side." 

He  went  to  the  theatre  on  that  fatal  night,  the  telegraph  in- 
forms us,  because  he  wished  to  please  his  friends,  and  not  disap- 
point the  people,  who  w^ere  expe6ling  the  presence  of  General 
Grant. 

"  His  life  was  gentle  :  and  the  elements 
So  mixed  in  him,  that  Nature  might  stand  up, 
And  say  to  all  the  world,  This  icas  a  man." 

In  turning  our  thoughts  from  a  contemplation  of  his  character 
to  our  bleeding  country,  the  question  forces  itself  upon  every 
thoughtful  mind,  What  will  be  the  effe6t  of  Abraham  Lincoln's 
assassination  upon  the  nation?  Our  latest  dates  afford  us,  as  yet, 
no  fa6ls  by  which  we  can  satis faftorily  answer  this  question. 
Time  must  determine.  Our  minds  must  for  the  present  find  con- 
solation in  dwelling  upon  the  great  truth,  that  God  lives  and 
reigns;  and  that  he  is  able  and  "will  make  the  wrath  of  man  to 
praise  Him."  We  may  also  recall  to  mind  some  of  those  pages 
of  history,  wherein  somewhat  similar  events  are  recorded. 
When  Brutus  and  his  fellow-assassins  smote  down  Caesar  in  the 
Senate  at  Rome,  they  supposed,  that,  with  Caesar's  death,  Caesar's 


72         .     God puttcth  dozv7i  One,  and  sctteth  np  Another. 

influence  would  no  longer  be  felt.  They  were  disappointed. 
Caesar  disappeared;  but,  exclaims  Cicero,  "  All  the  a6ls  of  Caesar's 
life,  his  writings,  his  words,  his  promises,  his  thoughts,  are  more 
powerful  after  his  death  than  if  he  were  still  alive."  So,  I  trust, 
and  doubt  not,  it  will  be  with  the  life,  writings,  words,  promises, 
thoughts,  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  His  blood  has  stamped  an  im- 
press upon  these,  which  will  immeasurably  increase  their  value 
throughout  all  coming  time. 

When  the  hired  assassin,  Balthazar  Gerard,  brought  to  an 
untimely  end  the  eventful  life  of  William  the  Silent,  Prince  of 
Orange,  on  the  loth  of  July,  1584,  Philip  II.,  and  all  the  enemies 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  imagined,  that,  with  the  death  of 
the  Prince  of  Orange,  would  end  his  usefulness.  But,  oh,  how 
disappointed  were  these  men!  In  the  beautiful  language  of 
Motley,  "  The  prince  was  entombed  amid  the  tears  of  a  whole 
nation.  Never  was  a  more  extensive,  unaffe6ted,  and  legitimate 
sorrow  felt  at  the  death  of  any  human  being.  As  long  as  he 
lived,  he  was  the  guiding-star  of  a  whole  brave  nation;  and  when 
he  died,  the  little  children  cried  in  the  streets."  The  Common- 
wealth, which  William  had  liberated  for  ever  from  Spanish 
tyranny,  continued  to  exist,  as  a  gi-eat  and  flourishing  Republic, 
during  more  than  two  centuries,  under  the  successive  stadthold- 
erates  of  his  sons  and  descendants.  So,  I  doubt  not,  a  similar 
result  will  follow  the  assassination  of  the  illustrious  man,  whose 
most  unexpe6ted  death  we  now  lament.  He  died  the  martyr  to 
liberty.  He  was  assassinated  by  the  hand  of  Booth;  but  it  was 
negro-chattel  slavery  which  nerved  that  arm,  and  prompted  that 
basest  of  crimes  in  the  annals  of  nations.  This  was  the  crown- 
ing a6l  of  the  slaveholders'  rebellion.  Sumter  was  fired  upon  on 
the  1 2th  of  April,  1861.  Booth  shot  President  Lincoln  on  the 
14th  of  April,  1865.  The  same  bad  animus  that  first  struck 
down  the  flag  in  '61,  fired  the  assassin's  bosom,  when  he   smote 


Rev.  S.  C.  Damon.  73 


down  the  President,  —  Commander-in-chief  of  all  the  military  and 
naval  forces  of  the  Republic.  No  powers  of  metaphysical  analy- 
sis can  separate  the  two.  Perhaps  it  was  needed  that  this  crime 
of  crimes  should  be  perpetrated  to  arouse  the  minds  of  the 
American  people  to  the  awful  enormity  of  the  crime  of  slavery 
and  treason.  The  deed  has  been  accomplished;  and,  henceforth 
and  for  ever,  in  the  minds  of  all  loyal  Americans,  and  lovers  of 
liberty  throughout  the  world,  a  stigma  has  been  fastened  upon 
the  crime  of  slavery  and  treason^  which  can  never  be  wiped  away. 
However  much  we  may  pity  the  unfortunate  dupes  of  the  leaders 
of  that  rebellion,  the  deeds  of  the  instigators  and  leaders  can 
never  be  palliated;  for  their  crimes  all  culminated  in  Booth's 
assassination  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  How  the  perpetrator  of  that 
crime  shall  be  punished,  remains  to  be  seen;  but  woe  be  unto 
those  who  arouse  the  wrath  of  a  nation  of  thirty  millions  of 
people!  Solomon  compares  the  wrath  of  a  king  to  "the  roaring 
of  a  lion,"  and  to  "  messengers  of  death ;  "  but  to  what  shall  be 
compared  the  people's  wrath?  Mr.  Lincoln  could  not  execute 
that  wrath.  He  found  it,  from  the  overflowing  kindness  of  his 
nature,  almost  impossible  to  punish  the  guilty.  Perhaps  there 
was  no  trait  of  his  chara6ler  to  which  his  enemies  took  more 
exception,  and  over  which  his  friends  more  deeply  mourned.  It 
sometimes  seriously  embarrassed  the  regular  administration  of 
justice.  The  officers  of  the  army  and  the  Government  said  it 
was  useless  to  arrest  offenders  and  traitors,  for  Mr.  Lincoln  would 
pardon  them.  At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Cabinet,  held  only  the 
day  before  his  death,  Mr.  Lincoln  expressed  his  determination  to 
deal  in  the  most  liberal  manner  with  the  rebellious  States.  As 
it  has  been  well  remarked,  "  The  great,  capacious,  manly  heart  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  generous  enough  to  have  embraced  all 
within  the  forgiveness  of  its  loving  nature;  and,  in  their  madness, 
they  have  killed  him."     The  best  friend  of  the  rebels  was  assassi- 

10 


74  God puttcth  down  O^ie^  and  setteth  up  Another. 

nated  by  one  of  themselves;  and  no  doubt,  if  he  could  have  again 
spoken,  he  would  have  prayed,  in  the  language  of  our  Saviour  on 
the  cross,  "  Father,  forgive  them :  they  know  not  what  they  do." 

The  event  to  which  our  attention  has  now  been  called,  will 
not  pass  into  oblivion,  and  be  forgotten.  It  was  not  done  in  a 
corner;  but  the  crime  was  perpetrated,  as  it  were,  in  the  presence 
of  a  gazing  crowd  of  spe6tators,  infinitely  larger  than  that  gath- 
ered in  the  theatre  where  it  took  place.  Abraham  Lincoln  was 
assassinate^  on  the  world's  wide  stage.  There  was  a  great 
cloud  of  witnesses.  What  shall  be  its  influence  upon  the 
nation  and  the  world,  we  know  not  now;  but  we  shall  know 
hereafter.  It  will  be  overruled  for  good.  How  unspeakably 
thankful  we  all  should  be,  that  he  was  spared  thus  long  to  the 
nation,  even  to  see  a  virtual  ending  of  the  rebellion!  God  per- 
mitted this  stunning  blow  to  fall  for  the  accomplishment  of  some 
wise  purpose.  I  do  believe,  that,  in  after  years  and  ages,  it 
will  be  seen  to  have  been  necessary  for  bringing  about  the  final 
triumph  of  justice  and  truth,  and  the  punishment  of  the  guilty. 
For  a  season,  clouds  and  darkness  may  surround  the  throne  of 
God,  and  envelop  his  plans  and  purposes;  but,  ere  long,  he  will 
make  all  clear  and  plain.  If  w^e  are  watchful,  and  take  the  word 
of  God  for  our  guide,  we  shall  see  the  dark  clouds  revealing  a 
rainbow  of  glorious  promise.  I  am  confident  that  a  bright  and 
glorious  future  is  opening  before  our  country.  Let  us  be  hope- 
ful. Great  results  must  follow  from  these  tragic  events  of  war 
and  commotion.  Surely  we  have  witnessed  enough  to  make  us 
trustful  and  confiding.  It  seems  to  be  a  law  or  principle  which 
God  observes  in  his  management  of  nations,  as  well  as  indi- 
viduals, that,  when  he  would  bestow  some  signal  favor,  he  pre- 
pares the  way  by  severe  chastisements.  Surely  I  think  we  may 
hope  that  God  has  great  good  in  store  for  that  people,  when  he 
shall   have  chastised  them  for  that  great  sin  of  slavery.      That 


Rev.  S.  C.  Damoft.  75 


must  be  removed  before  the  millennium  come,  and  the  gospel 
shall  everywhere  triumph.  In  the  appropriate  language  of  Long- 
fellow, I  would  exhort  you,  "  Look  not  mournfully  upon  the  past: 
it  comes  not  back  again.  Wisely  improve  the  present:  it  is 
thine.  Go  forth  and  meet  the  shadowy  future,  without  fear,  and 
with  a  manly  heart."  Let  us  not  go  forth,  however,  trusting  in 
an  "  arm  of  flesh,"  but  in  God,  our  Saviour  and  Deliverer,  most 
fully  believing  the  sentiment  of  the  text,  "What  I  do,  thou  know- 
est  not  now;  but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter."  —  ^^  God  is  the 
judge  P 


SERMON 


PREACHED    IN    THE    SECOND    CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCH,    HOLVOKE,    MASS.,    ON 

WEDNESDAY,    APRIL    1 9,     1 865  ; 

BY    REV.    O.    H.    BUTTON. 


Psalms  xc.  6 :   "In  the  morning  it  flourisheth  and  groweth  up;    in  the  evening  it  is 

cut  down,  dried  up  and  withered." 

THE  whirling  swiftness  of  the  events  in  the  midst  of  which 
we  live,  takes  us  through  strange  scenes,  and  forces  sudden 
contrasts  upon  us.  AVe  stand  bewildered  and  doubtful  among 
them.  Man's  importance  dwindles.  By  a  common  instinft, 
which  puts  aside  with  authority  all  the  impious  thoughts,  all  the 
blasphemous  words  of  the  scoffer,  men  turn  their  eyes  to  God, 
and  pause  in  humble  w^aiting  on  his  will. 

Among  strange  scenes,  and  amid  sudden  contrasts,  indeed,  we 
move.  Where  are  now  the  jubilant  clang  of  bells,  and  the  roar 
of  answering  cannon;  the  cheerful  countenance;  the  mutual  con- 
gratulations of  men;  the  flashing  illumination,  —  all  the  demon- 
strations of  joy  and  gratitude  which  but  ten  days  ago  gave  a 
bounding  energy  to  every  step,  and  caused  us  all  to  smile  as  we 
looked  from  the  smoky  past  toward  the  bright  sunshine  of  the 
future?  Given  place  to  muffled  sounds,  to  hearts  bowed  down, 
to  heads  shaking  in  foreboding,  to  breasts  surcharged  with  grief 
for  whose  utterance  even  groans  will  not  suffice. 


Rev.  O.  H.  Diitton.  77 


The  country  has  mourned  before  this  day.  A  few  here  and 
there  live  who  dimly  remember  the  lamentation  for  the  death 
of  the  first  President.  Many  of  us  recall  with  ease  the  sorrow 
upon  the  land  when  the  ninth  ended  his  briefest  term  of  office. 
And  most  of  us  distin6lly  recollect  the  death  of  our  twelfth  Chief 
Magistrate,  with  all  the  attending  circumstances  of  the  general 
grief.     The  nation  has  mourned  before ;  but  never  as  now. 

And  where  lies  the  pungency  of  our  sorrow?  Not  chiefly  in 
the  loss  of  a  wise  man  of  far-seeing  vision  and  of  firmest  will. 
That  is  a  subject  for  calmer  regret,  but  not  for  blinding,  despair- 
ing affliction  of  soul.  No :  the  thought  which  smote  all  hearts  as 
the  horrible  tidings  of  last  week's  close  swept  over  the  land  was, 
that  we  had  lost  a  friend ;  a  living,  loving  personality  had  been 
snatched  away:  'twas  as  if  some  one  whom  we  knew,  and  with 
whom  we  had  taken  sweet  counsel  together,  had  been  laid  low. 
Therefore  we  wept.  Thence  arises  this  weary  moaning,  which 
makes  of  the  whole  nation  a  grand  ^olian  harp,  whose  thou- 
sand strings  vibrate  in  shivering  unison,  with  tones  of  deepest 
woe. 

And  now,  the  people  of  the  country  everywhere  assemble,  as 
we  do  here,  to  take  part  in  the  burial  of  this  true  fellow-citizen, 
this  wise  counsellor,  this  noble-hearted  friend.  In  the  nation's 
capital,  the  mortal  remains  are  now  passing  amid  tenderest  care 
toward  the  grave;  and,  in  every  village  where  stands  a  house 
dedicated  to  God's  worship,  overflowing  hearts  are  paying  the 
tribute  due  to  one  whose  memory  shall  ever  be  accompanied  with 
blessing. 

While  we  need  not  to-day  attempt  to  give  what  would  neces- 
sarily be  an  imperfe6t  sketch  of  the  late  President's  life;  and 
while  we  cannot  hope  to  present  any  thing  like  a  thorough  resume 
of  his  chara6ler,  or  to  make  any  thing  like  an  intelligent  group- 
ing of  his  great  official  a6ls,  —  we  yet  may  properly  and  profita- 


78  Sermon. 


\i[y  refer  to  some  of  his  more  marked  qualities  as  statesman 
and  man. 

You  know  that  honesty  of  his,  which  has  become  proverbial. 
It  was  not  the  mere  honesty  in  pecuniary  matters,  but  an  upright- 
ness which  pervaded  all  his  relations  with  mankind;  a  desire  to 
know  the  absolute  truth,  and  a  fixed  determination  to  a6t  upon 
that  knowledge  when  gained.  It  was  the  honesty  of  a6lion  as 
well  as  of  intention:  some  men,  3^ou  know,  are  honest  at  the  out- 
set in  their  purposes,  but  through  an  imperfe6lly  balanced  charac- 
ter are  twisted  aside  into  a  crooked  line  of  action.  This  was  by 
no  means  the  case  with  him.  He  sought  first  to  know  himself, 
and  all  the  dangers  to  which  he  Avas  liable  from  his  own  personal 
peculiarities;  then  he  endeavored  thoroughly  to  learn  the  real 
bearings  of  every  question  offered  to  him:  he  would  present  it  to 
all  lights;  would  take  the  opinions  of  the  enemies  as  well  as  the 
friends  of  any  measure:  he  knew  how  to  make  allowances  for 
the  prejudices  of  those  in  favor  of,  as  well  as  of  those  against,  any 
line  of  a6tion  pressed  upon  him.  He  was  not  to  be  pushed  hastily 
into  any  step,  nor  was  he  to  be  restrained  when  the  time  seemed 
to  his  honest,  justice-loving  mind  to  have  fully  come. 

As  a  natural  consequence,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  misunderstood  for 
a  long  time,  —  a  very  long  time.  Radical  men  from  one  important 
State  and  another  would  post  to  Washington,  have  an  interview 
with  the  President,  and  urge  their  most  violent  plans  upon  him: 
but  then  they  would  be  chagrined  to  find,  that,  while  they  were 
more  than  courteously  listened  to;  while  every  bit  of  valuable  in- 
telligence or  useful  suggestion  they  had  to  offer  was-  eagerly 
seized  by  him,  and  honestly  used,  —  their  pet  schemes  were  not 
put  in  motion;  and  thereupon  there  would  result  dissatisfa6lion. 

But  then  appeared  the  shining  qualities  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  na- 
ture. He  could  be  patient  in  the  midst  of  the  censures  of  his 
friends.     Confident  in  his  ow^n  integrity,  and  with  a  splendid  trust 


Rev.  O.  H.  Diitton.  "■'•  79 


in  his  true  eye,  this  steady  pilot  kept  his  hand  on  the  helm,  and 
smiled  amid  all  storms.  He  lived  through  several  of  these  trying 
times;  and  the  men  w^ho  had  blamed  his  slowness,  thanked  God 
that  their  impetuosity  had  not  changed  his  course. 

I  said  that  they  complained   of  his   slowness.      There  was  a 
quality  in  Mr.  Lincoln  whicli  was  indeed  remarkable  in  this  head- 
long age,  among  such  an  irritable  people.     His  honesty  —  another 
name  for  his  sense  of  justice  —  made  him  seem  slow.     He  wished 
to  hear,  and  he  would  hear,  every  particle  of  evidence  before  the 
case  was  taken  up  for  decision.     Then  he  did  what  he  felt  to  be 
right;    that  is,  he  first  gave  long  and  careful  deliberation  to  the 
matter,  and  then  moved  with  an  absolutely  inflexible  purpose  to- 
ward his  end.     He  would  not  import  the  dash  of  the  battle-field 
into  the  deliberations  of  the  council-chamber.     He  knew  that  all 
important  questions   of  State  would  gain  by  waiting.     There  he 
felt  secure  in  his  own  judgment,  and  there  he  held  firm.     In  mat- 
ters which,  as  we  may  say,  were  not  legitimately  within  his  pro- 
vince except  by  name,  —  as  military  affairs,  —  he  was  modest,  and, 
though  having  opinions,  allowed  himself  to  be,  perhaps  not  unfre- 
quently,  overruled;  when,  even  here,  in  most  cases,  I  believe  the 
fa<5ls  would  show  that  his   ideas  were   more  judicious  than  those 
finally  substituted.     But,  where  questions  of  State  were  involved, 
he   would  deliberate   long,  and   aft  with  absolute   independence. 
AY^  used  often  to   hear,  two  years  ago,  remarks  like  this:    That 
hopes  had  been  entertained  that  the  President  would  take  this  or 
that  step,  but  that  such  a  strong  pressure  had  been  brought  upon 
him  on  the  other  side,  that  the  hope  had  been  given  up;  but  lately 
we  have  not  heard  such  remarks,  simply  because  men  had  begun 
to  know  that  it  was  not  an  adverse  influence  which  defeated  their 
proje6ls,  but  simply  the  resistance  of  a  strong  and  just  nature  to 
their   own   inordinate   pressure.     The    honestv,  sense  of  justice, 
which  seemed  an  inborn,  and  was  an  absolutely  fixed,  principle  of 


8o  *  Sermo7i. 


his  being,  was  the  sure  moral  foundation  on  which  all  his  excel- 
lences rested. 

In  patriotism  he  was  a  bright  exemplar.  Absolute  modest}^, 
utter  self-abnegation,  characterized  all  his  a6ls.  He  made  no 
verbal  professions  of  patriotism,  more  than  he  did  of  honesty. 
He  seemed  to  think  it  as  absurd  for  a  public  officer  to  advertise 
his  love  of  countr}^,  as  it  would  be  for  a  judge  to  boast  of  fairness. 
In  fa6t,  he  never  thought  of  self.  A  simple,  single  desire  to  serve 
the  country,  and  to  guide  her  safely  through  her  sea  of  troubles, 
was  the  motive  power  of  all  his  a6ls. 

With  this  unfailing  honesty  and  this  shining  patriotism  was 
joined  a  far-seeing  wisdom,  which  —  under  God  —  has  brought 
us  again  to  the  boundary  of  peace.  Our  late  President  was  a 
wiser  man  than  most  of  those  around  him,  than  most  of  those 
throughout  the  land.  He  could  penetrate  farther  into  the  future 
than  most.  His  wisdom  seemed — like  his  honesty  and  his  pa- 
triotism—  to  be  an  instinft;  and  where  other  men,  wise  in  their 
generation,  would  have  hastily  taken  a  certain  step,  he  waited  and 
looked  about  him,  usually  seeing  a  reason  for  different  a6lion. 
Turn  back  along  the  history  of  the  past  four  years,  and  see  how 
many  a6ls  there  are,  which,  had  they 'been  otherwise  done,  would 
most  likely  have  brought  us  to-day  into  another  and  surely  worse 
condition  than  that  which  we  now  hold.  The  question  of  eman- 
cipation, upon  which  more  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  for  and 
against  than  on  any  other,  —  emancipation  was  the  dear  wish  of 
his  heart.  But  not  even  to  accomplish  that  would  he  take  a  step 
which  honesty  and  patriotism  did  not  approve.  Hi*  wisdom 
showed  him  the  difficulties  before  him,  and  dire6ted  him  how  to 
avoid  them  all.  And  now  grandly  that  wisdom  stands  forth  this 
day  in  connedtion  with  the  great  result  of  the  war,  —  Universal 
Liberty. 

There  was  a  positive  sublimity  in   Mr.   Lincoln's   calm   stead- 


Rev.  O.  H.  Diitton.  8i 


fastness  and  self-reliance,  —  qualities  which  never  deserted  him, 
and  of  which  he  often  had  especial  need.  There  have  been  many 
dark  days  during  this  war,  as  you  surely  need  not  be  told.  There 
have  been  months  of  what  the  people  thought  ina6lion;  times 
when  every  thing  seemed  slipping  into  chaos;  moments  when 
political  manipulations  seemed  to  be  paralyzing  the  military  arm, 
and  making  the  Executive  a  merely  nominal  power.  The  opposi- 
tion presses  throughout  the  country  were  joining  in  one  yell  of 
objurgation  \  the  friendly  journals  were  fault-finding,  changeable, 
lukewarm;  the  people  fancied  they  saw  imbecility  in  the  Admin- 
istration. Amid  all  this  uproar,  with  the  awful  responsibility  of 
the  nation's  weal  on  his  shoulders,  —  under  which,  in  such  a  mo- 
ment of  anxiety,  a  timid  man  w^ould  have  fled,  and  a  nervous  man 
would  have  died,  —  he  remained  firm,  quiet,  unruffled,  certain  that 
the  future  would  justify  the  present,  and  willing  to  wait  for  the 
coming  verdi6l. 

Try  to  place  yourselves  in  imagination  in  the  position  he  occu- 
pied, for  instance,  when  some  great  military  plan  was  coming  to 
its  development,  and  there  was  impending  one  of  those  series  of 
bloody  a6tions  which  you  all  know  so  well.  The  fighting  begins. 
The  moment  for  w^hich  the  people  have  been  clamoring  has 
come.  If  the  result  of  the  battles  be  favorable,  well;  if  the  result 
be  a  defeat,  then  upon  the  head  of  the  President  is  sure  to  de- 
scend a  torrent  of  censure.  Can  you  conceive  any  thing  more 
trying  than  such  an  interval  of  anxiety  and  suspense  ?  It  would 
have  been  hard  enough  to  have  endured  it,  if  success  should 
come:  but  perchance  we  are  beaten;  now  what  strength  is  like 
that  which  can  stand  up,  unmoved  in  its  conscious  integrity,  and 
outlive  that  overthrow?  What  courage  like  that  which  can  pa- 
tiently clear  away  the  ruins,  and  then  sit  down  to  constru6l 
another  edifice,  still  hopefully?  Such  unfailing  strength,  such 
indomitable  courage,  chara6lerized  the  man  for  whom  we  mourn. 

1 1 


82  Sermon. 


But  —  aoain  disclaiming  any  pretence  of  having  given  more 
than  an  imperfe6t  outline  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  chara6leristics  as  a 
statesman  —  let  us  turn  to  look  at  him  in  his  personal  traits.  It 
was  my  lot  to  be  one  of  the  number  who  accompanied  the  Presi- 
dent ele6l  on  his  circuitous  journey  from  his  Western  home  to 
Washington,  previous  to  his  first  inauguration.  At  night,  when 
we  paused  at  some  large  town  or  city,  there  was,  of  course,  con- 
fusion, and  all  the  jargon  of  a  public  demonstration.  But  when, 
the  next  morning,  we  were  once  inore  under  way,  freedom  of 
intercourse  was  again  restored,  and  the  inmates  of  the  two  cars 
which  composed  the  special  train  moved  to  and  fro  as  they 
chose.  Thus,  during  the  eight  or  nine  days  consumed  before 
reaching  New- York  Cit}^,  all  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  much 
of  the  man  upon  whom  the  heart-hopes  of  the  whole  country 
then  rested  with  a  prophetic  instin6t.  Of  course,  political  mat- 
ters were  not  discussed  in  any  general  way;  and  except  for  the 
three  or  four  brief  speeches  during  the  day,  when  at  some  way- 
station  the  people  would  have  collected  to  greet  their  President, 
no  one  would  have  known  that  so  noteworthy  a  personage  was 
there.  But  this  very  absence  of  official  circumstance  gave  us  all 
the  more  opportunity  of  observing  his  personal  chara6teristics ; 
and  these,  as  then  developed  to  us,  never  changed,  even  in  the 
atmosphere  of  the  capital. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  essentially  and  thoroughly  a  kind  man:  his 
w^as  a  homely  kindness,  too,  which  made  no  one  feel  as  if  sub- 
je6ted  to  a  condescension.  While  speaking  to  those  younger 
than  himself,  he  was  apt  to  put  his  hand  upon  the  other's  shoulder, 
and  then  would  utter  some  bit  of  quaint  wisdom,  or  make  some 
personal  inquiry,  through  which  a  magnetism  would  steal  into  the 
one  with  whom  he  conversed,  drawing  him  along  with  gentle  but 
resistless  force.  One  of  the  most  charming  recolle6tions  of  the 
trip  is  of  the  peculiar  love  existing  between   the  President  eleft 


Rev.  O.  H.  Dtitton.  83 


and  Colonel  Ellsworth,  who  was  of  the  party. .  As  they  sat  or 
stood  talking  together,  the  former's  arm  would  be  thrown  around 
Ellsworth  with  the  air  of  an  older  brother;  and,  as  if  in  return  for 
this  regard,  the  latter  would  constitute  himself  a  special  body- 
guard, and  his  vigorous  strength  would  open  a  way  through  the 
densest  crowd  which  gathered  at  the  terminus  of  the  day's  ride 
to  graze  at  and  hail  with  shouts  the  illustrious  visitor. 

To  people  generally,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  by  no  means  a  demon- 
strative person,  and  his  courtesy  had  not  the  finish  of  the  polished 
man  of  society.  But  his  genuine  kindness  was  unfailing:  it 
would  show  itself  in  the  trip  spoken  of  on  seeing,  at  a  station 
where  no  stop  was  to  be  made,  a  waiting  crowd.  He  could  not 
bear  to  disappoint  the  people,  he  said;  and  it  was  the  same  feel- 
ing which  sent  him,  relu6tant,  to  the  theatre,  to  meet  his  death. 
He  would  gladly  have  avoided  the  conspicuous  display;  but  the 
cry,  "We  want  to  see  President  Lincoln,"  he  could  not  resist. 
"  I  think  I  must  say  Miow  d'ye  do '  to  them,"  he  would  remark  to 
the  manager  of  the  excursion :  and  so  he  would  step  out  upon  the 
rear  platform,  acknowledging  the  greeting,  and  beginning  an  ad- 
dress which  would  most  likely  be  quickly  cut  short  by  the  moving 
off  of  the  train ;  when,  with  a  last  pleasant  word,  and  one  of  his 
peculiar  smiles,  which  seemed  to  light  up  the  whole  assembly,  he 
would  return  to  his  place,  making  some  apologetic  remark  to  the 
representatives  of  the  press  for  the  unfinished  oration,  and  then 
for  an  hour  or  two  more  would  be  the  plain  and  happy  father  of 
his  children,  of  whose  frolics  he  never  grew  weary. 

This  broad,  genial  kindness  of  heart  never  left  him  through 
life.  Those  who  were  associated  with  him,  —  whether  ^private 
secretaries  or  house  servants,  socially  or  officially,  —  all  join  in 
this,  —  that  he  was  invariably  a  gentle  man.  He  truly  rejoiced 
with  the  joyful,  and  wept  with  the  mourner.  Whether  reviewing 
the  army,  or  visiting   the   bedside   of  the   thousand   inmates   of  a 


84  Sermon. 


military  hospital,  or  listening  to  the  supplication  of  some  poor 
woman  who  besought  that  the  forfeited  life  of  an  erring  son  might 
be  spared,  —  he  was  ever  the  kind  friend,  the  sympathetic  com- 
forter, the  merciful-hearted  ruler. 

His  modesty  was  a  most  noticeable  trait.  An  idea  of  display 
never  entered  his  mind.  He  was  entirely  destitute  of  what  we 
call  ^*  manner."  There  was  no  air  of  authority  upon  him.  He 
never  did  any  thing  for  efte6t,  or  with  a  dash.  He  was  never 
hurried,  never  heated;  never  wore  the  look  of  anxiety  which  is  so 
fatal  to  a  nation's  tranquillity,  when  seen  upon  a  ruler's  face  in  a 
troublous  time:  he  seemed  to  be  cheerful  from  principle;  and 
cheerful  because  he  had  a  genuine  trust  in  God,  —  the  High  and 
Mighty  Ruler  of  the  Universe. 

And  this  brings  us  to  say  a  word  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  Christian 
character.  The  sources  from  which  comes  our  present  conviction 
of  his  really  genuine  religious  experience  are  open  before  all 
men.  When  a  man  so  honest  and  so  wise  indicates,  declares, 
plainly  as  words  can  say  it,  that  his  trust  is  in  God,  we  have  but 
to  believe,  and  rejoice  in  believing,  that  he  knows  indeed  the  bles- 
sedness of  such  a  hope,  ever  an  anchor  to  the  soul.  I  think  that 
you  who  have  taken  note,  even  without  especial  reference  to  this 
point,  of  the  late  President's  addresses  and  proclamations,  will 
say,  that  there  has  been  a  gradually  increasing  spirit  of  piety 
manifested  in  those  papers,  a  spirit  which  culminates  in  his  last 
Inaugural  Address,  —  that  strangely  solemn  word,  so  unexpefted, 
so  almost  startling,  which  breathed  a  temper  truly  Christ-like,  a 
trust  in  God  grand  in  its  sublimity  of  expression. 

But  God,  on  whom  he  placed  his  hope,  fulfilling  his  own 
righteous  purpose,  mysteri^ous  though  it  be,  willed  that  his  work 
on  earth  should  cease.  And  so  this  honest  man,  patriot  citizen, 
wise  statesman,  kind  friend,  modest  ruler,  gentle  Christian,  —  this 
leader  of  our  Israel,  —  died  on  the  borders  of  the  promised  land, 


Rev.  O.  H.  D  tiff  on.  85 


whither  he  was  not  allowed  to  go  fully  over,  though  he  might  see 
it  from  a  distance.  After,  through  much  toil,  and  having  borne 
the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day,  he  had  labored  to  bring  his  coun- 
try through  her  perils,  he  was  cut  down  in  the  evening  of  the 
strife,  just  as  he  was  looking  forward  to  rest  under  the  vine  and 
fig-tree  of  lovely  peace.  A  strange  life!  A  death  wondrous 
strange !  Think  of  that  humble  origin ;  that  remarkable  upward 
course;  that  four  years  of  dust  and  smoke  and  blood,  of  turmoil, 
anger's  writhing  and  disafte6lion's  upheaving;  that  sudden  suc- 
cession of  flashing  victories  won  by  his  generals;  the  crowning 
triumph  of  his  simple  entrance  into  the  rebel  capital,  —  neither 
rebel  nor  capital  longer;  and  then  that  swift  destruction,  —  the 
quenching  of  a  precious  life  in  the  murkiness  and  gloom  of  a  hor- 
rible crime.  Wonderful  life!  More  wonderful  death!  Who  but 
God  can  unlock  its  inscrutable  meaning? 

It  is  impossible  to  think  and  speak  of  this  visitation  of  the 
Almighty  hand  without  going  behind  it,  and  looking  for  its  cause. 
If  a  thunderbolt  had  slain  him,  or  if  he  had  fallen  by  one  of  the 
more  common  strokes  which  lay  so  many  low,  the  loss  would 
have  been  still  irreparable,  men  say;  but  the  blow  would  not  have 
been  so  sickening  in  its  effefts.  Had  even  a  ruffianly  hand, 
guided  by  an  avaricious  heart,  stricken  him,  the  same  degree  of 
horror  would  not  have  been  aroused.  But  it  is  that  this  a6l  is  the 
final  culmination  in  death  of  that  sin  which  was  brought  forth  of 
the  lust  of  gain  and  power,  —  the  sin  of  human  slavery.  We 
needed  to  have  one  truth  forced  upon  us,  —  that  the  system  which 
has  borne  the  terrible  fruits  of  the  past  does  of  itself  destroy  the 
moral  fibre  of  humanity,  and  make  any  crime  easy  to  him  whose 
passions  are  influenced  from  such  a  source.  We  needed,  I  say, 
to  have  this  truth  forced  upon  us ;  and  it  has  made  slow  prog- 
ress, even  in  the  events  of  the  last  four  years,  till  within  this  week 
which  follows  Friday  last.     We  have  been  slow  to  be  convinced 


86  Sermon. 


that  slavery  in  the  nation,  Hke  habitual  drunkenness  in  the  indi- 
vidual, would,  as  a  rule,  destroy  honor,  and  make  of  man  a  raging 
beast.  We  denied,  and  still  denied,  that  the  rules  of  ordinary 
warfare  were  violated;^  that  wounded  men  were  butchered;  that 
captured  men  were  subje6ted  to  the  terrible  torture  of  a  slow  star- 
vation, which  could  end  only  in  idiocy  or  death.  We  forced 
ourselves  to  doubt  these  things,  till  the  truth  of  the  awful  tale  was 
thrust  upon  us  by  concurrent,  irrefragable  testimony;  by  the  tot- 
tering return  to  us  of  brothers  and  friends,  ruined  by  no  wound 
of  the  battle-held ;  and  by  those  sun-pi6lures  which  cannot  lie, 
and  which  are  so  dreadful  that  we  hide  them  from  our  wives  and 
daughters  in  pure  mercy.  We  tried  not  to  believe  that  a  Southern 
prison  had  been  deliberately  mined,  and  that,  in  a  certain  emer- 
gency, it  was  to  have  been  blown  into  fragments,  with  all  its 
famine-stricken  inmates,  —  till  we  heard  the  a6t  defended  by 
Southern  men.  And  yet,  with  all  this  accumulation  of  proof  of 
the  rottenness  produced  by  the  system,  we  were  not  prepared  — 
I  venture  to  say  —  for  the  dagger  and  the  pistol,  for  conspiracy 
and  assassination. 

God  forbid  that  we,  his  ministers,  standing  here  in  the  temple 
where  his  mercy  dwelleth,  serving  under  the  orders  of  the  Prince 
of  Peace,  and  met  together  with  you  to  commemorate  the  burial 
of  one  whose  every  word  was  kindness,  —  God  forbid  that  we 
should  seem  to  say  any  thing  to  inflame  the  passions  of  men,  or 
to  excite  desires  for  a  carnal  vengeance!  Rather  would  we  brine- 
home  to  the  consciences  of  all  men  the  question.  Am  I  guiltless 
in  this  matter?  We  have  temporized  too  much  in  our  halls  of 
legislation,  and  in  all  the  marts  of  trade.  We  have  eaten,  and 
wiped  our  mouths,  and  said,  "  I  have  done  no  wickedness."  Did 
we  think  that  the  Almighty  God  would  hide  his  face  from  sin,  — 
would  wink  at  the  wrong-doing,  —  would  prevent  as  by  a  miracle 
the   natural   outworking  of  the  virulence  within?     My  brethren, 


Rev.  O.  H.  Dutton.  87 


when  shall  we  learn  that  there  is  in  truth  a  God  of  perfect  justice  ? 
When  know  that  he  really  governs  this  world?  When  be  con- 
vinced that  retribution  must  follow  crime  ?  While  Boards  of  Trade 
have  bridged  over  awkward  gaps  in  the  body  politic  with  resolu- 
tions; while  men  have  gone  about  with  trowels  and  mortar 
smoothing  over  the  cracks  which  show  the  presence  of  the  hidden 
internal  fire,  —  the  volcano  has  been  working  still,  and  all  human 
contrivances  have  been  but  as  tow  before  the  fierceness  of  the 
furnace. 

Let  us  not  forget  to-day,  that  we  are  under  the  mighty  hand 
of  God.  Do  you  not  remember  how  ready  we  were  but  a  week 
ago  to  discard  humiliation,  and  rush  into  resounding  joy,  almost 
forgetful  of  the  Lord,  who  is  the  only  Giver  of  all  vi6lory? 
Thoughtful  men  trembled  when  wave .  after  wave  of  triumph 
rolled  in  upon  us,  and  we  seemed  to  have  moved  at  a  step  from 
out  of  thick  darkness  into  broadest  sunlio-ht.  Some  of  us  still 
feared  that  bitter  trouble  was  coming;  that  we  had  not  yet  been 
sufficiently  punished:  and  we  asked  ourselves,  Will  the  blow 
take  the  form  of  financial  disaster?  Will  perhaps  a  foreign  war 
crowd  upon  us?     What  will  it  be?     For  in  the  atmosphere  there 


is  something  telling  of  danger.  But  we  did  not  think  of  this. 
We  did  not  dream  that  every  loyal  heart  in  the  land  would  be 
pierced  with  sharpest  grief;  that  even  the  brightness  of  the  lovely 
spring  would  be  changed  into  a  light  more  saddening  than  an 
autumn  farewell. 

God  has  his  purposes,  —  and  all  are  wise.  Let  us  reverently 
ask  to  be  taught  his  will.  While  mourning  over  the  afffi6tion 
he  has  sent  upon  us,  let  us  thank  him  from  the  depths  of  our 
overflowing  hearts,  that  he  gave  us  this  wise  man  and  true- 
hearted  leader  —  this  second  Father  of  his  country — so  long; 
that  we  are  permitted  to  reap  what  he  has  sowed;  that  through 
him  —  under  God  —  we  see,  even  in  this  sad  moment,  the  virtual 


88  Sermon. 


end  of  that  rebellion,  which,  four  years  ago  to-day,  shed  the  first 
blood  of  our  citizens,  —  the  virtual  end  of  the  war  which  was 
begun  by  a  mob,  which  has  been  ended  by  an  assassin. 

And  now,  while  one  simultaneous  sound  of  wailing  goes  up 
from  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land;  while  through  the 
sweet  sunshine,  and  surrounded  with  all  the  fragrance  of  Na- 
ture's opening  life,  the  mortal  body  of  our  ruler  and  friend  is 
carried  to  the  burial,  there  to  rest  in  the  hope  of  a  joyful  resur- 
redlion,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  —  let  us  take  for  the  guid- 
ance of  our  future  steps,  as  private  citizens,  or  members  of  the 
great  body,  —  the  State,  those  concluding  words  of  his  last  mes- 
sage,—  words  which  will  for  ever  shine  as  a  halo  around  the 
memory  of  him  from  whom  we  now  for  ever  in  this  life  take  our 
leave :  — 

"  With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with  firmness 
in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to 
finish  the  work  we  are  in;  to  bind  up  the  nation's  wounds;  to 
care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne  the  battle,  and  for  his  widow 
and  his  orphans;  and  to  do  all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a 
just  and  lasting  peace  among  ourselves,  and  with  all  nations." 


,,^^.9»^j^V^v^>Tl^>^ 


THE   NATION^S   BEREAVEMENT 


A     DISCOURSE     DELIVERED     IN     THE     UNIVERSALIST     CHURCH,     BUFFALO,     N.Y., 

SUNDAY    MORNING,    APRIL    1 6,    1 865  ; 

BY   REV.  J.   HAZARD   HARTZELL. 


2  Samuel,  xxii.  28:  "And  the  afflidled  people  thou  wilt  save." 

THIS  is  the  language  of  David  in  regard  to  the  people  of  Is- 
rael. They  had  passed  through  a  terrible  confli6t  with  the 
Philistines.  Israel  had  emerged  from  the  shock  and  blood,  the 
commotion  and  destruction,  of  w^ar,  mighty  and  vi6lorious.  But 
some  of  their  great  men  had  fallen,  and  bitter  sorrow  came  upon 
Israel.  Their  kingdom  had  been  delivered  by  the  hand  of  the 
Almighty;  and,  whilst  they  rejoiced  over  this  deliverance,  they 
were  called  to  mourn  over  the  great  men  who  had  perished  in 
the  struggle.  David  returned  thanks  to  the  Almighty  for  the 
vi6lory  over  his  enemies,  and,  with  the  voice  of  the  sublimest 
confidence,  declared  that  God  would  save  his  affli6led  people. 
Oh !  it  is  grand  and  inspiring  to  see  this  old  king,  amid  the  sorrow 
and  desolation  of  the  people,  with  the  light  of  victory  streaming 
all  over  his  kingdom,  which  -had  been  shaken  by  the  tumult  of 
war,  looking  up  with  a  full  heart,  and  thanking  God  for  his  timely 
intercession. 

With  these  introdu6lory  remarks,  we  pass,  with  indescribable 
feelings,  to  speak  this  morning  upon  "  The  Nation's  Bereavement." 

12 


90  The  Nation^ s  Bei^cavemenL 

Stunned  b}"  the  terrific  blow,  and  appalled  by  the  unspeakable 
horror  of  a  most  wicked  tragedy,  we  hardly  know  how  to  ap- 
proach the  subje6l.  The  President  of  the  Republic  is  struck 
down  by  the  red  hand  of  the  midnight  assassin,  in  the  hour  of 
Our  Pxational  triumph;  and  a  loving  people  are  in  tears.  The 
Secretar}'  of  State  lies  in  a  critical  condition,  with  blood  oozing 
from  the  wounds  infli6ted  by  the  relentless  murderer;  and  rejoic- 
ing freemen  are  shocked  and  bewildered.  The  light  of  vi6lory 
has  given  way  to  the  darkness  of  death;  and  the  angel  of  liber- 
ty hangs,  with  piteous  look  and  sheltering  wing,  over  the  Repub- 
lic. We  find  our  feelings  expressed  in  the  language  of  Macduff, 
when  he  discovered  Duncan  lying  bloody  and  dead  in  his  cham- 
ber: — 

"  Confusion  now  hath  made  his  masterpiece! 
Most  sacrilegious  murder  hath  broke  ope 
The  Lord's  anointed  temple,  and  stole  from  thence 
The  Life  of  the  building." 

A  loyal  people  are  wrenched  with  agony,  and  overshadowed 
with  desolation.  Bells  have  tolled  their  melancholy  music,  and 
every  city  in  the  country  is  draped  in  the  deepest  mourning. 
Tears  are  the  eloquent  utterances  of  a  mighty  people,  who  have 
conquered  a  rebellion,  the  most  bloody  and  wicked  that  ever 
darkened  the  earth,  and  redeemed  a  nation,  the  most  free  and 
just  upon  which  the  sun  ever  poured  its  light.  But,  beneath 
these  tears,  so  profuse  and  bitter,  there  is  a  firm,  deep,  steady 
purpose  to  punish  treason  and  murder;  to  re-instate  the  Republic 
upon  the  everlasting  foundations  of  justice  and  righteousness;  to 
advance  with  a  giant  tread,  and  meet  the  momentous  issues  of 
the  hour;  to  usher  in  the  luminous  period  of  law  and  order,  and 
let  the  nation  travel,  with  triumphant  banners,  up  the  prophetic 
highway  of  a  glorious  destiny. 

First  treason,  and   then   murder:    how  they  follow  in   rapid 


Rev.  y.  Hazard  Hartzell.  91 

succession,  shocking  the  heart,  and  bewildering  the  brain! 
Wickedness  finds  cuhnination  in  the  massacre  of  the  President; 
and  in  the  fiendish  attack  upon  the  Secretary,  when  suffering 
intense  pain  upon  his  narrow  couch.  It  is  the  deep,  dark,  dam- 
ning stain  upon  the  escutcheon  of  American  civilization,  which 
will  require  the  operation  of  centuries  to  obliterate.  It  will  re- 
quire the  attrition  of  a  thousand  reforms,  and  the  polish  of  long 
years  of  education  and  refinement,  to  give  this  escutcheon  its 
former  brilliancy.  Long  will  it  be  before  the  American  people 
will  outgrow  this  foul,  rank  disgrace,  which  clings  to  them,  at 
this  moment,  like  a  cold,  withering  shadow  upon  their  land,  which 
is  richer  to-day,  thank  God  !  with  its  golden  sheaves  and  loyal 
hearts,  than  Europe  is  with  its  dusty  thrones  .  and  burnished 
crowns. 

Not  only  has  a  good  man  fallen,  but  every  citizen  of  the 
Republic  has  been  struck.  When  the  President  fell  by  the  cold 
hand  of  the  assassin,  every  freeman  in  the  country  received  the 
blotch  of  infamy  upon  his  forehead.  In  the  presence  of  law, 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  not  the  President  of  this  party,  nor  of  that 
party,  but  of  the  people;  and,  as  such,  he  fell.  We  say,  with 
Mark  Antony,  — 

"  Oh,  what  a  fall  was  there,  mj  countrymen  ! 
Then  I  and  you  and  all  of  us  fell  down, 
Whilst  bloody  treason  flourished  over  us." 

And  what  a  commentary  it  is  upon  the  civilization  of  this  coun- 
try, when  we  refle6f:  that  the  truth  of  the  present,  so  full  of  horror 
and  disgrace,  is  so  forcibly  expressed  by  the  language  of  Mark 
Antony  over  the  dead  body  of  Caesar,  as  it  lay  in  the  proud  city 
of  Rome,  speaking,  with  a  terrible  eloquence,  to  the  frenzied 
multitude,  from  many  a  wound.  This  shocking  tragedy  occurred 
under  the  ruling  civilization  of  heathenism;  but  it  is  not  more 
cruel,  bloody,  and  wicked,   than   the   one   which   has  just  been 


92  The  NatioiCs  Bereavement. 

performed  in  Washington,  amid  the  spiritual  forces  of  Christiani- 
ty. Oh!  respe6ted  freemen,  it  is  a  terrible  misfortune  to  be 
thrown,  by  the  puny  arm  of  one  man,  back  three  thousand  years 
into  the  cold  and  chilling  atmosphere  of  barbarism.  Oh!  my 
afHi6ted  countrymen,  we  have  met  with  an  awful  calamity;  and  it 
behooves  us,  in  this  hour  of  trial  and  sorrow,  to  rise  above  all  the 
prejudices  of  party  and  sectarianism,  and  awake  to  the  important 
duties  of  the  hour. 

"  Awake ! 
Shake  off  this  downy  sleep,  death's  counterfeit, 
And  look  on  death  itself!     Up,  up,  and  see 
The  great  doom's  image  !     Malcolm  !  Banquo  ! 
As  from  j'our  graves  rise  up,  and  walk  like  sprites, 
To  countenance  this  horror!  " 

This  assassination  of  the  President  discloses  a  recklessness 
and  a  depravity,  that  must  be  humiliating  to  every  American.  It 
is  the  revealment  of  that  contempt  for  law  and  order,  which  must 
lower  the  Government  in  the  minds  of  Europeans.  It  is  the 
development  of  that  awful  spirit  of  treason,  which  has  been 
nurtured,  for  years,  in  malignant  bosoms,  under  the  diabohis  of 
nullification.  It  is  the  same  spirit  which  disgraced  the  halls 
of  American  Congress  by  its  passion,  despotism,  and  brutal  vio- 
lence; and  that  brought  sorrow  to  the  hearts,  and  pallor  to  the 
lips,  of  millions  of  freemen,  by  firing  into  the  honored  flag  on 
Fort  Sumter.  It  has  now  risen  to  the  climax  of  perfidy;  and  the 
blood  of  our  Chief  Magistrate  is  crying  to  us,  in  melting  tones, 
from  the  ground. 

We  hoped  that  we  had  passed  from  the  period  of  violence  and 
destruction,  treason  and  murder.  We  had  hoped  that  our  great- 
est sorrow  had  been  experienced,  our  heaviest  calamities  borne, 
our  deepest  darkness  passed.  But  we  were  mistaken;  for  a 
shock  of  commotion,  like  a  clap  of  thunder  from  a  sky  that 
looked  beautiful  and  serene,  has  shaken  the  nation.     We  stood  in 


Rev.  y.  Hazard  Hartzcll.  93 

the  morning'  lioht  of  the  new  era  which  had  commenced  to  break 
over  the  country,  with  flags  of  triumph  waving,  and  bells  of 
gladness  ringing,  when  the  President  was  stricken  down.  The 
foot  of  the  nation  was  upon  the  neck  of  the  rebellion,  and  it 
was  passing  through  its  last  spasm,  rolling  and  struggling  in  the 
dust,  when  this  awful  calamity  fell  upon  us.  With  the  light  of 
peace  and  joy  beaming  upon  the  land,  in  consequence  of  the 
glorious  triumph  of  the  invincible  army  of  the  Republic,  we 
should  have  rejoiced  if  the  life  of  the  President  could  have  been 
spared.  But  the  Almighty,  for  some  wise  purpose  beyond  our 
comprehension,  has  allowed  him  to  be  removed,  from  a  sphere 
of  unwearied  effort  and  intense  anxiety,  to  a  sphere,  we  trust,  of 
tranquil  peace  and  heavenly  rest,  where  dark  clouds  never  lower, 
and  the  fire-storms  never  come. 

"We  scarcely  know  where  to  find  a  parallel  to  this  crime, 
which  is  at  this  moment  weighing  upon  the  heart  of  the  nation. 
William  the  First,  Prince  of  Orange,  who  gave  freedom  to  the 
Dutch,  and  was  venerated  and  honored  for  his  humane  disposi- 
tion and  sterling  chara6ler,  and  who  won  the  affe6tion  of  his 
people  by  his  kindness  and  uprightness,  was  murdered  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  The  assassin  was  a  young  man  from  Burgun- 
dy, who  fired  a  pistol,  containing  three  balls,  at  the  Prince,  when 
he  fell  and  died,  with  the  words,  Mo7i  Dieu!  Mon  Dieu!  Ayez 
pitie  de  moi  et  de  ton  pauvre  peuple!  But,  taking  both  periods 
into  consideration,  this  crime  does  not  equal  the  one  before  which 
America  stands  appalled  this  morning.  Since  the  assassination 
of  William  the  First,  we  have  had  three  centuries  in  which  to 
advance  government,  civilization,  and  religion,  with  no  little 
monarchies  quarrelling  and  contending  around  us.  Contrasting 
the  periods  and  the  countries,  the  assassination  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States  is  a  crime  which  has  scarcely  a  parallel  in 
history. 


94  The  Natioft's  Bereave77tent. 


True,  a  few  men,  conspicuous  in  the  affairs  of  Government  in 
various  countries,  have  fallen  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin.  The 
great  Duke  of  Buckingham,  v^^hen  about  to  embark  at  Portsmouth, 
to  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  new  armament,  fell  by  the  dagger 
of  Felton.  Percival,  when  Prime  Minister  of  Great  Britain,  was 
killed  with  a  pistol-shot  as  he  was  approaching  the  door  of  the 
House  of  Commons.  Henry  the  Fourth,  the  best  king  of  France, 
was  slain  by  the  dagger  of  Ravaillac,  when  he  was  riding  in  his 
coach  through  the  streets  of  Paris.  Many  of  the  Czars  of  the  old 
Russian  Empire  were  assassinated  when  their  soldiers  bristled  in 
their  armor  on  many  a  field.  But  when  before  in  the  annals  of 
history  was  there  a  man  at  the  head  of  a  mighty  Republic,  who 
had  so  much  simplicity  of  nature  and  kindness  of  disposition, 
who  ruled  to  elevate  and  not  to  enslave,  who  was  venerated 
and  loved  by  millions  of  intelligent  freemen,  removed  from  the 
sphere  of  his  earthly  existence  by  an  atrocious  murder  at  the  very 
moment  he  was  being  hailed  the  Deliverer  of  his  Country? 

Now  that  Abraham  Lincoln  is  gone,  let  us  put  away  all  pas- 
sion and  prejudice,  and  recognize  and  honor  the  sublime  virtues 
of  his  character.  We  shall  not  look  upon  him  as  belonging  to 
this  party  or  to  that  party,  but  as  an  American  and  a  Christian, 
who,  rising  from  poverty  and  obscurity  to  a  position  more  eminent 
and  glorious  than  that  of  a  throne,  by  his  own  industry,  talent,  and 
virtue,  has  demonstrated  to  us  the  worth  of  our  institutions.  We 
shall  call  upon  him,  not  as  a  Republican  leader,  but  as  an  Ameri- 
can citizen  of  a  lofty  purpose,  a  noble  character,  and  a  gi-eat  heart, 
whose  name  will  go  down  to  unborn  millions  with  an  attraftive 
splendor.  Pure  in  eX^ery  aim  and  aspiration,  honest  in  every 
principle  and  measure,  cheerful  and  benignant  in  the  darkest  days 
of  the  Republic,  he  carried  himself  forward  in  his  work  with  a 
sublime  grandeur.  Just  as  Aristides,  humble  as  Cincinnatus, 
humane  and   magnanimous  as  Constantine,  he  gained   the  confi- 


Rev.  y.  Hazard  Hartzell.  95 

dence,  the  admiration,  and  the  affection  of  the  people.  With  his 
heart  wedded  to  the  attra6live  principles  of  justice  and  liberty; 
shaking  hands  with  the  humblest  soldier  and  poorest  bondman; 
having  a  word  and  a  smile  for  all,  even  those  in  the  lowest  condi- 
tion, —  he  will  pass  into  history  as  one  of  the  greatest  benefa6lors 
of  the  human  race.  With  childlike  trust  in  God,  and  with  unwa- 
vering faith  in  the  stability  of  democratic  institutions,  he  toiled 
with  a  cool  brain  and  a  warm  heart  for  the  restoration  of  the 
Union,  and  the  triumph  of  the  Government.  Oh!  my  afflicted 
countrymen,  remember  in  this  sad  hour,  he  was  an  American; 
that  he  rose  from  among  us  to  his  eminent  office,  under  the  aegis 
of  the  Constitution,  and  there  venerated  God.  Take  up  his  red 
mantle  this  morning,  and  press  it  to  your  afflicted  hearts,  and  weep 
as  you  look  upon  the  noble  form  of  an  honest  man,  cold  in  death, 
who  served  us  all  in  this  awakening  period  to  the  best  of  his 
ability. 

God,  it  seems  from  the  revealments  of  history,  when  he  has 
any  great  work  to  be  accomplished  for  the  good  of  the  people, 
often  chooses  the  humblest  instrument.  He  calls  his  servant, 
stripped  of  all  selfishness  and  arrogance,  from  the  most  obscure 
fireside,  and  guides  and  upholds  him  in  a  work  which  procures 
freedom,  elevation,  and  happiness  for  the  people.  The  simplicity 
and  meekness  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  combined  with  his  integrity 
and  benevolence,  gave  an  attra6lion  to  his  character  which  won 
so  many  hearts.  He  will  go  down  the  dim  aisles  of  the  future 
with  the  torches  of  rejoicing  flaming  all  around  him,  carried  by 
four  millions  of  a  despised  race  from  whose  limbs  he  struck  the 
chains! 

And  whilst  this  sorrow  hangs  upon  every  se6l  and  party,  upon 
every  class  and  condition  in  the  land,  let  us  not  despair  of  the 
Republic.  The  blood  of  the  President  will  cement  all  se6ts  and 
parties,  and  they  will  now  stand  like  a  tremendous  barrier  against 


96  The  NatioiCs  Bercavanent. 

■»• 
the  imder-currents  of  treason.  In  the  presence  of  the  murdered 
Chief,  the  entire  North  stands  united  this  morning;  and  we  be- 
lieve the  nation  is  stronger  this  moment  than  it  has  ever  been 
since  the  commencement  of  the  dire  confli6l.  The  rebellion  is 
now  so  crushed  under  the  iron  heel  of  war,  that  it  can  never  rise 
again  and  shake  its  gory  locks  at  freemen. 

The  sparkling  light  of  a  new  epoch  is  streaming  upon  us :  the 
golden  doors  of  a  new  era  are  opening  to  receive  us.  With  firm- 
ness of  purpose  and  concert  of  a6lion  we  can,  as  a  people,  now 
rise  to  the  loftiest  summit  of  power  and  glory.  Let  us  not  be 
discouraged,  nor  waver  in  our  duty  in  this  hour;  for  we  believe 
the  present  emergency  will  develop  that  knowledge  of  diplo- 
macy, that  willingness  to  endure,  that  readiness  to  obey,  which 
shall  make  our  people  great  in  the  eyes  of  all  nations.  But 
let  us  resolve,  by  homes  desolated;  by  families  broken  up;  by 
the  heaped  graves  of  a  hundred  battle-fields;  by  the  pale  forms 
of  sixty  thousand  unconquered  soldiers,  who  have  wasted  away  in 
Southern  prisons;  by  the  precious  blood  of  a  million  heroes;  by 
the  shocking  murder  of  the  President,  whose  broken  body  lies 
stiff  and  cold  in  the  Capitol  of  our  country  to-day,  —  that  the 
Republic  shall  live,  and  that  the  flag  shall  wave  in  perfe6t  triumph 
over  every  State  in  the  Union! 

Let  us  not  be  carried  away  by  passion  and  feeling.  This  will 
only  increase  the  waves  on  the  sea  of  commotion.  This  will  only 
swell  these  waves  into  billows  of  excitement,  which  will  rock  the 
old  Ship  of  State.  There  is  no  power  nor  efte6liveness  in  passion 
or  feeling,  uncontrolled  and  uncontrollable.  The  stream  of  water 
which  makes  the  most  noise  in  sweeping  over  the  bed  of  its  chan- 
nel is  the  shallowest  and  weakest.  But  the  stream  of  water  which 
flows  on  calmly  and  serenel}^  is  deep  and  strong,  and  has  power  to 
turn  a  million  wheels.  Let  not  blind  passion,  but  enlightened 
judgment,  rule  the  hour,  and  then  effective  power  will  be  wielded. 


Rev.  y.  Hazard  HartzelL  97 

Let  reason  and  conscience  be  listened  to  in  their  appeals;  for  one 
is  the  counsellor,  and  the  other  is  the  preacher,  in  every  soul. 
We  need  in  such  a  period  as  this  the  calmest  deliberation  and  the 
highest  judgment.  Blind  passion  was  a  leading  element  in  devel- 
oping the  French-  Revolution  with  its  train  of  bloody  scenes  and 
frightful  horrors.  Enlightened  reason,  with  a  deep  love  of  justice 
and  liberty,  was  the  guiding  power  of  our  fathers  when  they 
reared  this  Republic.  Let  their  enlightened  reason  be  ours,  and 
with  deep,  calm  feeling;  with  a  strong,  unbending  purpose;  with 
a  firm,  unwavering  confidence  in  God,  —  we  shall  strengthen  the 
Government,  and  bring  order  out  of  chaos.  With  every  faculty, 
energy,  and  affe6lion,  consecrated  in  the  cause  of  saving  the 
country;  with  our  hearts  wedded  to  our  beneficent  institutions; 
with  every  a6l  and  word  baptized  in  the  living  spirit  of  an  intel- 
ligent purpose,  —  the  nation  will  rise  with  potency  and  grandeur. 
Then  the  great  car  of  progress  will  keep  the  track,  and  every 
thing  in  the  shape  of  treason  or  secession,  that  shall  come  in  con- 
tact with  it,  shall  be  ground  into  powder. 

Nature,  yesterday,  placed  herself  in  harmony  with  the  sorrow- 
ful condition  of  the  people.  The  light  of  the  sun  was  obscured 
by  the  dark  cloud  which  gathered  over  the  face  of  the  heavens. 
The  tears  of  nature  mingled  with  the  tears  of  the  people,  whilst 
the  Genius  of  Liberty  stood  bleeding  in  the  Capitol  of  the  coun- 
try. The  sad  face  of  Washington  peered  through  the  gloom 
and  darkness  of  the  firmament,  and  looked  down  with  pity  and 
tenderness  on  his  affli6fed  children.  And  just  so  sure  as  the 
gloom  and  darkness  of  the  firmament  shall  give  way  to  light  and 
glory, — light  washing  the  feet  of  stooping  constellations,  and  glory 
covering  the  mountains  and  the  sea, — just  so  sure  shall  the  gloom 
and  sorrow  of  the  people  give  way  to  the  light  and  glory  which 
the  Almighty  will  bring  to  the  nation  in  the  birth  of  important 
events. 

13 


98  The  Nation  s  Bereavement. 

The  telegraph  announced,  that,  after  the  Vice-President  was 
sworn  into  his  office  as  Chief  Magistrate  yesterday,  he  said,  "  The 
duties  of  the  office  are  mine:  I  will  discharge  them,  trtistiitg  in 
GodP  This  is  a  bhist  from  the  trumpet,  which  strikes  the  right 
way,  and  sends  a  thrill  through  the  heart  of  every  American 
freeman.  The  first  is  a  recognition  of  duty,  amid  the  evils  and 
dangers  of  the  hour;  the  second  is  a  reliance  upon  God,  who 
guides  the  storm  and  holds  the  sea.  If  Andrew  Johnson  will 
only  be  faithful  to  duty,  and  rely  upon  the  dire6lion  and  power  of 
God,  the  nation  will  sweep  from  the  valley  of  desolation  and 
darkness  up  to  the  mountain-top  of  eminence  and  glory.  We 
believe  he  will;  for  a  nation  of  enlightened  and  patriotic  freemen 
will  hold  up  his  hands,  encourage  every  noble  effort,  applaud 
every  sublime  virtue,  and  surround  him,  as  it  were,  with  a  bulwark 
of  sympathy.  Millions  of  true  hearts  will  pray  for  him,  and 
millions  of  strong  arms  will  assist  him  and  his  Cabinet,  if  neces- 
sary, to  carry  forward  the  Ark  of  Freedom.  Performance  of 
duty,  and  reliance  upon  God,  will  insure  success  and  inaugurate 
a  golden  period  of  peace  and  prosperity. 

The  old  Ship  of  State  is  on  a  troubled  sea  this  dark  morning. 
The  mast  is  draped  in  the  emblems  of  mourning,  because  her 
Commander  lies  dead  in  the  cabin.  The  stars  in  the  tiae:  are 
obscured  by  the  black  crape,  which  speaks  of  the  grief  which 
weighs  upon  the  heart,  and  of  the  gloom  that  hangs  over  the 
decks.  She  will  outweather  this  storm  of  affli6lion,  and  will  come 
into  the  harbor  of  safety  and  tranquillity  with  thundering  wheels, 
breaking  the  waves  and  dashing  them  into  foam,  and  her  minute- 
guns  firing  their  sad  salute.  May  God,  who  commands  the 
tempest  and  controls  the  sea,  pilot  the  Ship  of  State  in  her 
tumultuous  journey,  causing  the  billows  of  commotion  to  sub- 
side! 

We   do    not   believe  that  God  is  indifterent  to  the   sublime 


Rev.  y.  Hazard  Hartzell.  99 

triumphs  of  the  month,  nor  to  the  momentous  issues  of  the  hour. 
We  beHeve  with  all  the  heart  in  his  wisdom  and  goodness,  and 
that  he  will  eventually  bring  good  to  the  people  out  of  this 
national  bereavement.  He  has  a  righteous  purpose  in  the 
removal  of  leading  men  as  well  as  in  the  marshalling  of  thrilling 
events.  All  may  be  dark  with  us,  but  all  is  light  with  him,  who 
lives  in  the  future  as  he  lives  in  the  present.  The  time  for  the 
removal  of  the  President  from  this  scene  of  a6tion  had  come, 
and  he  ascended  to  the  bosom  of  the  Infinite.  The  God  who 
protefted  our  fathers  in  the  dark  days  of  the  Revolution,  we 
believe,  will  prote6l  their  children  in  the  present  time.  We  know 
that  he  is  on  the  side  of  justice  and  humanity,  and  that  nothing 
can  defeat  his  great  plans,  mock  his  righteous  purposes,  or  strike 
down  his  right  arm.  With  David,  we  believe,  as  we  look  up 
this  morning  from  a  land  filled  with  mourning  and  desolation, 
that  the  Almighty  will  save  his  afflifted  people. 

And  here,  at  the  close,  we  remember  that  many  churches 
are  celebrating  to-day  with  a  startling  significance  the  resurre6lion 
of  Jesus.  We  rejoice  in  this  sublime  ceremonial,  which  tends  to 
keep  alive  in  the  heart  the  truth  of  immortality.  And  whilst  we 
stand  at  the  opened  door  of  the  empty  sepulchre,  rejoicing  in  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus,  let  us  date  from  this  very  hour  the  resur- 
re6lion  of  the  nation  to  a  higher  life,  a  grander  power,  and  a 
more  enduring  glory. 

The  U?iiversalist,  Boston,  May  4,  1865. 


PRESIDENT    LINCOLN'S    DEATH: 

A    SERMON  DELIVERED  AT   THE   FIRST   PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH    IN   DES  MOINES, 
IOWA,    ON    SUNDAY    EVENING,    APRIL    23,    1 865  ; 

BY    REV.    D.    L.  HUGHES. 


2  Samuel,  i.  19  :  "  How  are  the  mighty  fallen  !  " 

THE  text  originally  referred  to  Saul.  He  was  the  chosen 
King  of  Israel.  He  was  appointed  and  anointed  of  God 
to  his  official  power.  He  reigned  forty  years;  and,  although 
guilty  of  many  plain  violations  of  duty,  yet  as  the  King  of  Israel 
he  was  entitled  to  honor.  He  was  also  a  mighty  man  of  war. 
He  had  often  been  vi6torious  over  the  enemies  of  Israel,  and 
"  vexed  them  whithersoever  he  turned."  His  "  sword  returned 
not  empty,"  but  was  satiated  with  blood  and  spoil.  As  said 
David  in  this  funeral  dirge,  of  which  the  text  forms  a  part,  "  He 
was  swifter  than  an  eagle,  he  was  stronger  than  a  lion."  Yet 
he  was  overcome  bv  the  Philistines,  and  fell  upon  his  own  sword 
"  in  the  midst  of  battle."  The  finishing  stroke  to  his  life  was 
given,  it  seems,  however,  by  a  reckless  Amalekite.  This  mur- 
derous a6l,  he  thought,  was  sufficient  ground  for  boasting,  and 
over  it  he  expe6ted  King  David,  Saul's  successor,  to  rejoice.  But, 
instead  of  this,  David  and  all  the  men  that  were  with  him,  when 
they  heard  it,  were  filled  with  deep  sorrow.  They  rent  their 
clothes,  and   mourned   and  wept   and   fasted   until    even.     They 


Rev.  D.  L.  Hughes.  loi 


thus  manifested  great  propriety,  as  well  as  sound  wisdom  and 
true  noble-heartedness,  in  refusing  to  rejoice  over  even  an  enemy 
that  was  slain,  and  especially,  as  one  high  in  authority  having 
fallen  by  violent  hands.  Solomon  says,  "  Rejoice  not  when  thine 
enemy  falleth,  and  let  not  thine  heart  be  glad  when  he  stumbleth, 
lest  the  Lord  see  it,  and  it  displease  him."  And  again,  "  He 
that  is  glad  at  calamities  shall  not  be  unpunished."  Public  losses 
are  most  laid  to  heart  by  men  of  public  spirit.  But  this  strange 
Amalekite  was  sorely  disappointed,  not  only  in  that  neither  did 
David  nor  his  people  rejoice  in  his  murderous  condu6t,  but  also 
that  in  the  end  it  afforded  no  ground  to  himself  for  boasting. 
"And  David  said  unto  him,  ^How  wast  thou  not  afraid  to  stretch 
forth  thine  hand  to  destroy  the  Lord's  anointed  ? '  And  David 
called  one  of  the  young  men,  and  said,  'Go  near,  and  fall  upon  him.' 
And  he  smote  him  that  he  died.  And  David  said  unto  him,  ^  Thy 
blood  be  upon  thy  head;  for  thy  mouth  hath  testified  against  thee, 
saying,  I  have  slain  the  Lord's  anointed.' "  This  was  a  suitable 
punishment  to  the  murderer  of  his  prince;  and  let  just  such  pun- 
ishment fall  unerringly  upon  every  such  murderer. 

One  greater  than  Saul  in  all  the  elements  that  constitute  a 
wise  and  noble  ruler  was  lately  the  Chief  Executive  of  this  nation; 
but  now  his  lamentable  death,  at  the  hands  of  a  fiendish  assassin, 
has  filled  our  land  with  gloom  and  sorrow.  We  exclaim,  "  How 
are  the  mighty  fallen !  " 

It  is  wise  and  proper  to  observe  God's  dealings  with  us,  and 
then  to  improve  them  by  suitable  meditations. 

"  God's  purposes  are  ripening  fast, 
Unfolding  every  hour : 
The  bud  may  have  a  bitter  taste, 
But  sweet  will  be  the  flower. 

"  Blind  unbelief  is  sure  to  err. 
And  scan  his  work  in  vain  : 
God  is  his  own  interpreter, 
And  he  will  make  it  plain." 


I02  President  Lincohi^s  Death. 

We  live  in  times  of  great  national  agitation  —  of  rapid  changes 
—  of  stirring  scenes  —  and  of  terrible  events.  Nor  do  we  yet 
see  the  end.  The  future  is  big  with  awful  realities  —  with  great 
demands  upon  men,  and  means,  and  efforts  —  and  with  grand  re- 
sults. The  year  1866,  according  to  the  expounders  of  prophecy, 
is  to  be  a  remarkable  period;  and  already  do  we  see  something 
of  the  confli6l  and  trial,  as  well  as  the  triumph  and  glory,  that 
shall  follow.  The  saying  is  often  found  true,  —  "Coming  events 
cast  their  shadows  before."  But  "  The  name  of  the  Lord  is  a 
strong  tower:  the  righteous  runneth  into  it,  and  is  safe.  Jehovah 
shall  hide  his  people  in  his  pavilion,  until  these  calamities  be 
overpast." 

The  first  refle6lion  I  offer  from  the  text  is,  How  is  the  Rebellion 
fallen  !  This  rebellio'n  against  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  was  inaugurated  in  i860,  and  ripened  early  the  next  year 
into  full  maturity.  It  has  been  well  called  "  The  Great  Rebel- 
lion." Although  President  Lincoln  was  the  choice  of  the  people, 
and  was  constitutionally  ele6ted  and  indu6ted  into  office,  yet  a 
multitude  rebelliousl}^  declared,  "We  will  not  have  this  man  to 
reign  over  us."  It  was  an  unnatural,  unnecessary,  and  unjustifia- 
ble rebellion.  It  was  "  mighty,"  therefore,  in  it?,  folly  and  madness, 
in  attempting  with  limited  resources  to  cope  with  .a  more  formid- 
able enemy.  "  What  king  going  to  make  war  with  another  king 
sitteth  not  down  first,  and  consulteth  whether  he  be  able  with  ten 


^5 


thousand  to  meet  him  that  cometh  against  him  with  twenty  thou- 
sand?" Solomon's  wisdom  was  certainly  disregarded:  he  said, 
"  With  good  advice  make  war."  I  remarked  at  the  beginning  of 
this  rebellion,  to  a  native  of  Kentucky,  then  residing  in  Nevada 
Territory,  that  the  South  might  bring  into  this  contest  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  she  had,  if  she  wished,  and  every  dollar  she 
possessed,  and  then  it  would  only  be  a  work  of  time,  —  she  must, 
under  ordinary  providences,  yield.     She  had  undertaken  a  contest 


Rev.  D.  L.  Hughes.  103 


which  she  was  unable  to  carry  through.  The  odds  were  fearfully 
against  her.  The  rebellion  was  mighty,  too,  in  its  wickedness.  Its 
secret  springs  were  the  lust  of  gain  and  the  lust  of  power.  It 
violated  both  civil  and  divine  law.  Its  leaders  had  sworn  alle- 
giance to  the  Constitution  and  Government  of  the  United  States, 
and  yet  they  trampled  upon  both  with  impunity.  They  reje6ted, 
too,  the  counsels  of  the  Most  High.  "  Let  every  soul  be  subject 
unto  the  higher  powers.  For  there  is  no  power  but  of  God.  The 
powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God.  Whosoever,  therefore, 
resisteth  the  power,  resisteth  the  ordinance  of  God.  Wherefore 
ye  must  needs  be  subje6t,  not  only  for  wrath,  but  also  for  con- 
science' sake."  It  was  awfully  wicked  to  plot  the  entire  destruc- 
tion, if  possible,  of  the  wisest  and  best  Government  under  the 
sun;  to  resist  a  mild,  good,  and  firm  Magistrate  in  the  execution 
of  the  high  trusts  imposed  upon  him;  and  to  entail  upon  mil- 
lions of  their  fellow-citizens  poverty,  sickness,  wounds,  death,  and 
a  multitude  of  sorrows.  The  results  of  this  rebellion  also  have 
been  mighty;  for  millions  of  treasures  have  been  expended,  as 
well  as  thousands  of  precious  lives  sacrificed,  to  this  insatiate 
demon  of  war.  But  it  has  not  all  been  in  vain.  God  has  made 
the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him,  and  he  is  restraining  the  re- 
mainder thereof.  He  is  accomplishing  thereby  his  own  glorious 
purposes,  in  behalf  of  suffering  humanity,  and  of  the  advancement 
of  his  own  kingdom  in  all  the  earth. 

But  this  mighty  rebellion  \'&  fallen:  and  how  great  is  the  fall  of 
it!  It  is  utterly  broken,  and  "dashed  to  pieces  like  a  potter's 
vessel."  The  so-called  Southern  Confederacy,  which  was  so 
rapid  in  its  growth,  spreading  like  wildfire,  and  in  a  few  months 
embraced  in  its  mazy  folds  eleven  States;  which  was  mighty  in 
its  united  strength,  in  its  military  skill,  bravery  and  efficiency, 
and  in  its  varied  resources  and  self-sacrificing  delusion,  —  has  all 
gone   to    decay.     Its   great   lights    have    been    extinguished;    its 


I04  President  Lincohts  Death. 

boasted  armies  are  vanquished;  its  most  powerful  generals  have 
surrendered;  its  principal  cities  are  captured;  its  stolen  property 
is  recovered;  and  its  chief  officers  are  escaping,  or  humbly  beg- 
ging for  their  lives.  "  Ichabod  "  is  written  upon  her;  for  her  glory 
has  departed.  The  prophecy  of  Isaiah  is  fulfilled  in  her  case: 
"Associate  yourselves,  O  ye  people!  and  3^e  shall  be  broken  in 
pieces:  gird  yourselves,  and  ye  shall  be  broken  in  pieces,  —  gird 
yourselves,  and  3'e  shall  be  broken  in  pieces.  Take  counsel  to- 
gether, and  it  shall  come  to  nought;  speak  the  word,  and  it  shall 
not  stand:  for  God  is  with  us.  For  the  Lord  spake  thus  to  me 
with  a  strong  hand,  and  instru6ted  me  that  I  should  not  walk  in 
the  way  of  this  people;  saying,  Sa}^  ye  not,  a  confederacy,  to  all 
them  to  whom  this  people  shall  say,  a  confederacy;  neither  fear 
ye  their  fear,  nor  be  afraid.  They  shall  look  unto  the  earth,  and 
behold  trouble  and  darkness,  dimness  of  anguish;  and  shall  be 
driven  to  darkness."  Destruction  awaits  the  disobedient  and 
rebellious.  "  But  those  mine  enemies,  which  would  not  that  I 
should  reign  over  them,  bring  hither  and  slay  them  before  me." 
"  They  that  resist  shall  receive  to  themselves  damnation.  For 
rulers  are  not  a  terror  to  good  works,  but  to  the  evil.  If  thou  do 
that  which  is  evil,  be  afraid;  for  he  beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain: 
for  he  is  the  minister  of  God,  a  revenger  to  execute  wrath  upon 
him  that  doeth  evil." 

While  rebellion  and  the  Confederacy  are  thus  broken  and 
fallen,  the  103'al  part  of  the  land  —  true  patriots  everywhere  — 
have  shouted  their  hallelujahs,  and  rejoiced  with  joy  unspeakable 
and  full  of  glory. 

2d.  How  is  American  Slavery  fallen!  This  was  once  might}^, 
and  was  the  principal  cause  of  involving  a  nation  of  twenty-four 
millions  of  people  in  deadly  conflict,  —  in  a  civil  war  of  unprece- 
dented magnitude  and  ruin.  It  had  long  existed  among  us.  It 
had  made  great  progress;  and  it  was  mighty  in  its  oppression  of 


Rev.  D.  L.  Htighes.  105 


four  millions  of  human  beings.  It  has  been  upheld  by  the  artifice 
of  Satan  and  his  ministers.  Talent,  wealth,  and  power  have  all 
been  arrayed  in  its  favor.  Its  influence  has  been  felt  on  the  floor 
of  Congress,  in  the  halls  of  our  State  Legislatures,  and  in  man}^  of 
our  church  courts.  Public  opinion  has  not  only  winked  at,  but 
often  strenuously  advocated,  the  iniquitous  system.  Both  reason 
and  the  Bible  have  been  tortured  for  proofs  of  a  divine  warrant 
for  its  establishment,  necessity,  and  utility. 

But  the  institution  itself  is  an  essential  evil  in  human  society. 
It  is  at  variance  with  all  tjie  benign  and  redeeming  principles  of 
Christianity;  and  the  only  remedy  for  such  an  evil  is  its  entire 
extirpation.     This,  we  believe,  God  has  purposed,  and  will  finally 
and    fully  execute.      The  sentiment    I    uttered   in    your    hearing 
nearly  a  year  ago  was  true,  and  has  been  literally  fulfilled  thus 
far,  —  that  the  wail  of  woe  throughout  our  land  was  not  likely  to 
cease  until  we  suitably  humble  ourselves  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord 
for  all  our  sins;  nay,  it  will  be  but  extended  and  deepened,  until 
"  we  break  every  yoke,  and  let  the  oppressed  go  free."     Just  in 
proportion  as   this  grand  consummation  has  been    reached,  has 
prosperity  attended  us,  have  light  and  hope   and  peace  dawned 
upon  us.     The  South  themselves  seem  to  have  finally  come  to  the 
conclusion,  that  the  system  of  slavery  can  no  longer  be  perpe- 
tuated among  them;   while  those   in   the   North  who   have   long 
sympathized  with  it  already  exclaim,  "It  is  gone!"     This   is  a 
remarkable   attainment,   and    a    wonderful    concession    for  those 
parties  to  make.     But  all  the  solemn  providences  of  God  have 
tended  more  and  more  to  its  extirpation.     His  judgments  have 
fallen  heavily  upon  us  for  the  last  four  years,  to  this  end.     "Be- 
cause sentence  against  an   evil   work  is  not  executed  speedily, 
therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  fully  set  in  them  to  do 
evil."     But  "lift  not  up  your  horn  on  high;  speak  not  with  a  stiff 
neck:  for  promotion  cometh  neither  from  the  East,  nor  from  the 

14 


io6  President  Lincoln^ s  Death. 

West,  nor  from  the  South;  but  God  is  the  judge.  He  putteth 
down  one,  and  setteth  up  another.  For  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord 
there  is  a  cup,  and  the  wine  is  red:  it  is  full  of  mixture,  and  he 
poureth  out  of  the  same;  but  the  dregs  thereof,  all  the  wicked  of 
the  earth  shall  wring  them  out,  and  drink  them."  Retributive 
justice  will  not  always  sleep.  Those  that  oppress,  whether  they 
be  individuals,  companies,  or  nations,  shall  sooner  or  later  suffer 
vengeance.  The  history  of  all  the  past  is  sufficient  proof  of  it. 
Pharaoh  and  Herod,  Sennacherib  and  Judas,  as  specimens  of 
individual  oppressors,  came  to  untimely  and  dishonored  graves. 
And  where  are  Babylon  and  Nineveh  and  '^yro.  and  Sidon  and 
Egypt  and  Rome?  Their  former  glory  is  in  the  dust.  And 
where  is  the  chivalrous  and  slaveholdino:  South  ?  Scattered 
and  peeled,  humbled  and  desolate.  "  He  that,  being  often 
reproved,  hardeneth  his  neck,  shall  suddenly  be  destroyed,  and 
that  without  remedy."  —  "Woe  to  thee  that  spoilest,  and  thou 
wast  not  spoiled;  and  dealest  treacherously,  and  they  dealt  not 
treacherously  w^ith  thee!  When  thou  shalt  cease  to  spoil,  thou 
shalt  be  spoiled;  and  when  thou  shalt  make  an  end  to  deal 
treacherously,  they  shall  deal  treacherously  with  thee."  The 
Saviour's  rule  was,  "With  what  judgment  ye  judge,  ye  shall  be 
judged;  and  with  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to 
you  again."  The  judgment  of  the  wicked,  says  the  Apostle  Peter, 
"  lingereth  not,  and  their  damnation  slumbereth  not."  This  is  in 
accordance  with  an  unalterable  law  of  the  divine  Administration. 
A  day  of  divine  reckoning  for  sinners  of  every  description  will 
surely  come.  And  it  has  already  come,  and  may  yet  still  more 
fearfully  come,  upon  our  own  land,  for  its  many  crimes,  and  espe- 
cially for  its  unnatural,  unscriptural,  and  oppressive  violence. 
American  slavery  is  evidently  doomed.  Every  vestige  of  it  shall, 
in  due  time,  be  rooted  out.  Its  character,  condu6l,  and  ruin  are 
vividly  portrayed  by  the  beloved  disciple,  in  the  eighteenth  chap- 


Rev.  D.  L.  Hughes.  107 


ter  of  Revelation,  under  the  title  of  Babylon,  which  symbolizes 
a  gross  form,  or  system,  of  iniquity:  "And  I  heard  another  voice 
from  heaven,  saying,  Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  may  be 
not  partakers  of  her  sins,  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her  plagues. 
For  her  sins  have  reached  unto  heaven,  and  God  hath  remem- 
bered her  iniquities.  Reward  her  even  as  she  rewarded  you,  and 
double  unto  her  double  according  to  her  works:  in  the  cup  which 
she  hath  filled,  fill  to  her  double.  How  much  she  hath  glorified 
herself,  and  lived  deliciously,  so  much  torment  and  sorrow  give 
her;  for  she  saith  in  her  heart,  I  sit  a  queen,  and  am  no  widow, 
and  shall  see  no  sorrow.  Therefore  shall  her  plagues  come  in 
one  day,  —  death  and  mourning  and  famine;  and  she  shall  be 
utterly  burned  with  fire:  for  strong  is  the  Lord  God  who  judgeth 
her"  (vs.  4-8).  "And  a  mighty  angel  took  up  a  stone  like  a 
great  millstone,  and  cast  it  into  the  sea,  saying.  Thus  with  vio- 
lence shall  that  great  city  Babylon  be  thrown  down,  and  shall  be 
found  no  more  at  all"  (v.  21;  also  vs.  22  and  23,  and  chap.  xix. 
6).  To  President  Lincoln,  more  than  to  any  other  human  being, 
is  the  high  honor  due  of  the  speedy  abolition  of  the  iniquitous 
system  of  American  slavery. 

3d.  How  is  aristocracy  fallen  in  both  the  Old  World  and  the 
New!  How  is  it  fallen  in  its  opinions,  in  its  expectations,  in  its 
wealth  and  influence!  When  the  rebellion  first  broke  out,  and 
the  Southern  Confederacy  was  formed,  and  civil  war  became  a 
necessity,  there  were  those,  in  both  England  and  France,  who 
stood  high  in  official  circles,  who,  through  wealth  and  position, 
exerted  a  wide-spread  influence,  or  who  wielded  the  powerful 
"  pen  of  a  ready  writer."  In  all  our  struggles,  they  sympathized 
with  the  rebellion.  They  spoke  words  of  encouragement  to  the 
South,  and  did  much,  by  their  ships  and  stores,  and  munitions  of 
war,  to  aid  her  in  her  nefarious  work  of  destroying  our  republi- 
can   institutions,   of  the   most   careful    growth,    and   of  the  very 


io8  President  Lincoln'' s  Death. 

highest  order;  while,  at  the  same  time,  they  applied  to  the  North 
coarse  and  opprobrious  epithets,  rejoiced  over  our  adversities,  and 
declared,  time  and  again,  that  we  could  never  succeed  in  our 
endeavors  to  conquer  the  South,  and  that  there  was  no  hope  for 
us.  And  their  desire  evidently  was  to  recognize  the  independ- 
ence of  the  South,  if  they  could  only  have  seen  it  most  in  the  line 
of  policy  so  to  do,  and  had  not  the  masses  of  the  common  people 
prevented  it.  No  thanks  to  them  for  the  kind  Providence  that' 
frustrated  their  plans,  and  prote6led  and  blessed  us  in  the  hour  of 
our  peril.  They  expected  our  failure,  and  the  success  of  the 
armies  of  the  South.  Hence,  they  indulged  liberally  in  Confede- 
rate loans:  they  built  steamers,  and  loaded  them  with  all  manner 
of  provisions  and  arms;  and  then,  in  the  face  of  all  international 
law,  would  run  our  blockades,  and  traffic  freely  with  our  sworn 
enemies  as  with  our  true  friends.  But  they  sowed  to  the  wind, 
and  they  have  reaped  the  whirlwind.  They  are  sunk  down  in 
the  pit  that  they  made:  in  the  net  w^hich  they  hid,  is  their  own 
foot  taken.  "  They  are  snared  in  the  work  of  their  own  hands." 
Their  expe6tations  are  cut  off,  and  their  wealth  will  perish  by 
evil  travail.  They  are  wofully  disappointed  in  God's  marvellous 
doings  in  our  behalf,  and  in  the  divine  judgments  that  have  been 
executed  against  them.  In  America,  the  boasted  chivalry  of  the 
South,  and  the  moneyed  interests  of  the  North  that  were  in  league 
with  slavery,  and  that  were  a6ling  in  opposition  to  the  well-being 
of  a  Government  that  was  struggling  with  a  giant's  power  to  pre- 
serve its  very  existence  in  the  hour  of  fearful  confli6t,  are  alike 
brought  low.  "  And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  who  have  commit- 
ted fornication,  and  lived  deliciously  with  this  mystic  Babylon, 
shall  bewail  her,  and  lament  for  her,  when  they  shall  see  the 
smoke  of  her  burning.  Standing  afar  off  for  the  fear  of  her  tor- 
ment, saying,  Alas,  alas!  that  great  city  Babylon,  that  mighty 
city!  for  in  one  hour  is  thy  judgment  come.     And  the  merchants 


Rev.  D,  L.  Hughes.  109 


of  the  earth  shall  weep  and  mourn  over  her;  for  no  man  buyeth 
their  merchandise  any  more.  The  merchandise  of  gold  and 
silver  and  precious  stones,  and  of  pearls  and  fine  linen,  and 
purple  and  silk  and  scarlet,  and  all  thyine-wood,  and  all  manner 
vessels  of  ivory,  and  all  manner  vessels  of  most  precious  wood, 
and  of  iron  and  brass  and  marble,  and  cinnamon  and  odors  and 
ointments  and  frankincense,  and  wine  and  oil,  and  fine  flour 
and  wheat,  and  beasts  and  sheep  and  horses  and  chariots  and 
slaves,  and  souls  of  men,  and  the  fruits  that  thy  soul  lusted  after, 
are  departed  from  thee,  and  all  things  which  were  dainty  and 
goodly  are  departed  from  thee,  and  thou  shalt  find  them  no  more 
at  all.  The  merchants  of  these  things,  which  were  made  rich  by 
her,  shall  stand  afar  ofl'  for  the  fear  of  her  torment,  weeping  and 
wailing,  and  saying,  Alas,  alas!  that  great  city,  that  was  clothed 
in  fine  linen,  and  purple  and  scarlet,  and  decked  with  gold  and 
precious  stones,  and  pearls!  for  in  one  hour  so  great  riches  is 
come  to  naught." 

The  harp  and  the  viol  of  all  those  who  have  dealt  treacher- 
ously, or  who  have  engaged  in  unlawful  traffic,  are  gone.  They 
may  now  be  hung  upon  the  weeping  willows,  as  mementoes  of 
their  owner's  folly  and  wickedness,  to  be  played  upon  only  by  the 
mournful  requiems  of  the  passing  winds. 

4th.  President  Lincoln  has  fallen.  And  he  was  mighty.  Pie 
was  mighty  in  intellect,  —  mighty  in  soul, — mighty  in  great  plans 
and  in  noble  deeds,  —  and  mighty  in  the  affe6fions,  confidence, 
and  honors  of  a  great  nation.  And,  for  one,  I  am  not  ashamed 
nor  unwilling  to  stand  in  my  lot,  and  testify  before  men,  angels,  or 
devils,  that  I  love  and  respeft  the  name  and  chara6ler  of  Abraham 
Lincoln.  He  possessed,  in  a  remarkable  degree,  strong  common 
sense.  He  was  eminentl}^  a  pra6tical  man.  With  the  clearest 
logic,  the  nicest  skill,  and  the  fewest  words,  he  brought  all  his 
ideas  down  to  living  realities.     He  was  mild,  lenient,  merciful,  to 


no  Prcsidatt  Lincobt's  Death. 

his  enemies,  even  to  a  fault.  He  was  condescending  to  all  that 
either  approached  him,  or  wrote  to  him;  and  he  was  full  of  good- 
nature and  good-humor,  without  compromising  either  his  principles 
or  his  dignity.  He  scattered  his  judicious  opinions  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  bestowed  his  generous  sympathies  upon  all  classes, 
the  poor,  as  well  as  the  rich,  —  upon  those  at  home  in  anxiety 
and  sorrow,  and  upon  those  abroad  in  the  tented  field,  or  at  the 
hospital.  And  he  was,  I  believe,  a  God-fearing  and  a  God- 
honoring  man,  —  in  other  words,  a  conscientious  Christian.  He 
said  to  those  who  inquired  his  state  of  mind,  after  the  battle  of 
Gett3sburg,  " I  do  love  Jesus."  And  he  ever  strove,  honestly  and 
faithfully,  to  do  his  whole  duty,  whether  he  received  the  smiles 
or  the  frowns  of  his  fellow-men.  The  Presbyterian  "Banner"  of 
Pittsburg,  Penn.,  says  of  him,  "  No  man  in  this  land  had  a  kinder 
heart.  He  was  not  afraid  to  acknowledge  God,  or  to  confess  his 
dependence  upon  him.  He  was  a  firm  believer  in  our  holy  reli- 
gion, and  in  the  blessed  Bible.  He  had  great  confidence  in 
prayer,  and  asked  the  prayers  of  all  good  men  in  behalf  of  the 
nation,  and  also  in  behalf  of  himself.  His  second  Inaugural 
Address  is  a  most  remarkable  paper.  No  other  State  paper  on 
record,  not  found  in  the  Bible,  save,  possibly,  one  or  two  from 
Oliver  Cromwell,  has  so  much  of  the  Bible  and  the  gospel  in  it." 
I  have  been  told  that  the  Rev.  Dr.  R.  J.  Breckenridge  said,  when 
he  first  visited  President  Lincoln,  he  thought  him  but  a  moderate 
man;  but  afterwards,  when  he  became  better  acquainted  with 
him,  he  considered  him  the  greatest  man  in  America.  Accord- 
ing to  my  humble  opinion,  there  has  been  no  President,  since  this 
nation  became  a  Republic,  that  took  the  Presidential  chair  under 
so  many  difhculties  as  did  President  Lincoln,  or  that  assumed 
such  mighty  responsibilities  as  were  laid  upon  him,  or  that  exe- 
cuted them  with  more  straightforward  wisdom,  firmness,  and 
success,  than  he  did.     No  monarch  in  Europe  will  compare  with 


Rev,  D.  L.  Hughes.  1 1 1 


him  in  the  might}^  trusts  assumed,  and  in  the  vast  amount  of 
labor  so  well  done  in  such  a  short  space  of  time.  He  will  be 
placed,  notwithstanding  all  the  calumnies  of  his  enemies,  not 
second  to,  but  by  the  side  of  the  Father  of  his  Country,  as  his 
equal,  if  not  his  superior.  And  future  generations  shall  do  him 
justice.  And  yet,  this  great  and  good  man,  and  most  justly 
honored  and  patriotic  ruler,  in  the  midst  of  all  his  noble  plans 
and  herculean  labors  for  the  welfare  of  coming  generations,  has 
fallen,  in  an  hour  of  unwonted  national  joy,  by  the  hands  of  an 
unprincipled  assassin.  The  calamity  is  felt  to  be  a  personal  loss 
in  every  loyal  household.  Never  has  grief  over  the  death  of  a 
faithful  public  servant  been  so  heartfelt  and  so  universal.  I  may 
here  appropriately  introduce  a  part  of  Governor  Stone's  procla- 
mation to  the  people  of  Iowa,  calling  them  to  humiliation  and 
prayer,  in  consequence  of  this  sad  event,  on  Thursday  the  27th 
inst.  He  says,  "  In  the  midst  of  joy  and  triumph,  the  nation  is 
suddenly  called  on  to  deplore  the  loss  of  its  greatest  and  truest 
friend,  —  foully  murdered  by  a  traitorous  hand,  —  stricken  down 
in  the  fulness  of  life,  and  when  strongest  in  the  hearts  of  the 
people.  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States,  —  an 
honest  man,  an  exalted  patriot,  —  the  friend  of  the  poor  and  op- 
pressed,—  the  deliverer  of  his  country,  has  been  gathered  to  a 
martyr's  grave."  To  this  I  wish  to  add  an  extract  from  an  excel- 
lent address  delivered  at  the  Court  House  of  this  city  on  the  i6th 
inst.,  in  my  absence,  by  the  worthy  editor  of  our  "  Daily  State 
Register,"  and  upon  which  m}^  eye  has  just  rested  since  writing  the 
above:  "Men  have  sometimes  said,  in  their  enthusiastic  admira- 
tion of  Abraham  Lincoln,  that  they  believed  him  equal,  in  most 
qualities,  to  Washington.  I  believe,  even  beyond  this,  that  in 
the  discharge  of  the  new,  multiform,  and  weighty  trusts  com- 
mitted to  him  since  he  took  the  oath  of  office  in  1 861,  he  has 
developed  a  wiser  and  more  comprehensive  grasp   of  practical 


112  President  LincoMs  Death, 

statesmanship  than  any  other  man  ever  invested  w^ith  governmen- 
tal power."  And  again:  "God  only  knows  what  might  have 
become  of  the  nation  had  Mr.  Lincoln  fallen  a  vi6tim  to  the  plots 
of  traitors  and  murderers  at  an  earlier  period  of  the  war.  A 
contest  far  more  prolonged,  more  sanguinary,  and  more  devastat- 
ing, might  have  been  the  result,  and  ending,  may  be,  in  anarchy 
and  ruin.  But  it  was  ordered,  in  the  good  providence  of  Heaven, 
that  his  strong  arm  and  wise  counsels  should  lead  the  nation 
through  all  its  darkness  and  its  dangers,  and  see  its  flag  replant- 
ed on  nearly  every  rampart  from  which  it  had  been  wrenched  by 
treason.  His  mission  was  a  high  and  holy  one,  and  nobly  has  it 
been  fulfilled." 

It  becomes  us  to  render  thmtksgiving  unto  God,  that  the  life 
of  our  valuable  President  w\as  spared  to  his  country  so  long. 
For  more  than  four  years,  he  toiled  nobly,  wisely,  and  efficient- 
ly, to  deliver  her  from  worse  than  Egyptian  bondage.  It  was 
marvellous  to  witness  his  power  of  endurance  amidst  his  varied 
anxieties  and  labors  by  night  and  by  day,  at  home  and  abroad. 
Neither  his  physical  nor  mental  vigor  seemed  to  flag;  and,  when 
he  died,  it  may  justly  be  said  of  him,  as  of  Moses,  the  deliverer 
and  leader  of  ancient  Israel,  "  His  eye  was  not  dim,  nor  his 
natural  force  abated."  He  lived  just  long  enough  to  accomplish 
the  work  the  Almighty  had  assigned  him.  With  a  steady,  skil- 
ful hand,  he  managed  the  helm  in  the  threatening  storm,  and 
condu6ted  the  sinking  State  in  which  all  our  interests  were  em- 
barked, within  sight  of  the  harbor  of  peace,  safety,  and  glory, 
before  he  resiijned  the  charo^e.  He  lived  to  see  a  vile  rebel- 
lion  broken  to  pieces,  a  powerful  Confederacy  irrevocably  over- 
thrown, their  boasted  capital  taken,  their  most  skilful  general 
humbled,  his  enemies  put  to  shame,  the  rights  of  a  faithful 
government  vindicated,  and  —  through  his  own  official  a6ls, 
and  well-laid  and  executed  plans,  forced  upon  him  by  its  very 


Rev.  D.  L.  Hughes.  113 


friends,  —  the  death-knell  given  to  American  slavery.  He  fell 
on  the  very .  evening  of  that  glorious,  memorable  day,  —  the 
14th  of  April,  1865,  —  when  was  re-hoisted  our  country's  flag  at 
Fort  Sumter,  where,  just  four  years  previous,  it  had  been,  by 
traitorous  hands,  madly  torn  down,  and  -trailed  in  the  dust.  He 
fell  thus  in  triumph.  As  Moses,  after  successfully  leading  the 
children  of  Israel  forty  years  through  the  wilderness,  amidst  a 
burden  of  care,  and  much  opposition  and  rebellion,  was  not  per- 
mitted to  enter  the  promised  land,  but  had  the  joy  of  seeing  it 
from  the  top  of  Pisgah;  so  President  Lincoln,  after  successfully 
guiding  and  controlling  the  aftairs  of  this  great  nation  amidst 
peculiarly  troublous  times,  was  not  permitted  to  see  the  full  re- 
sults of  all  his  plans  and  efforts.  But  he  was  brought  so  near 
the  promised  land  of  peace  and  safety,  -that,  from  the  hill-top  of 
prosperity  upon  which  he  sat,  he  beheld  it;  and  the  sight  of  it 
doubtless  filled  his  heart  with  joy. 

But,  although  dead,  Abraham  Lincoln  yet  speaketh.  He  lived 
and  died  a  great  and  good  man.  His  works  will  long  follow  him, 
for  the  well-being  of  both  this  land  and  other  lands.  The  mighty 
changes  in  public  sentiment,  and  in  our  social  and  national  posi- 
tion, that,  in  the  providence  of  God,  he  has  effefted;  and  the 
wonderful  deliverance  of  four  millions  of  slaves  that  he  has  almost 
wrought  out,  —  in  connexion  with  his  quiet,  steady,  masterly 
statesmanship,  —  are  events  that  will  stamp  their  impress  upon 
both  the  present  and  future  generations;  are  events  that  will 
make  the  period  of  his  administration  one  ever  memorable  in  the 
hearts  of  all  loyal  Americans. 

But  where  did  he  fall  ?  In  a  theatre.  Alas !  for  the  place  of 
his  death.  It  is  to  me  the  only  thing  that  tarnishes  his  martyr- 
glory.  And,  it  is  said,  he  was  so  interested  in  the  play,  and  so 
amused  too  at  it,  that  he  did  not  even  notice  the  approach  of  his 
cowardly  assassin.     What  a  preparation  for  the  solemn  realities 

15 


114  President  Linco Ill's  Death. 

of  the  future  state!  What  miserable  places  are  theatres  to  fit  the 
soul  for  death  and  judgment  and  eternity!  How  little  restraining 
and  hallowed  influences,  too,  are  thrown  around  even  human  life 
in  these  places  of  revelry  and  mirth!  Their  tendency  is  to  im- 
morality in  all  its  forms.  Had  J.  Wilkes  Booth  been  trained 
under  other  and  higher  associations,  and  lived  in  a  nobler  sphere 
of  effort,  who  doubts  that  the  useful  life  of  our  late  President 
might  still  have  been  spared?  Had  he  fallen,  however,  by  the 
hands  of  violence  along  the  highway;  or  in  the  house  of  God; 
or  in  his  closet;  or  in  his  bed;  or  in  the  discharge  of  his  public 
duties;  or  at  his  desk,  penning  an  outline  of  the  settlement  of 
our  national  difficulties,  —  I  could  have  had  some  just  and  noble 
satisfa6lion  in  the  contemplation  of  it,  such  as  a  death  in  the  the- 
atre can  never  inspire.  Two  reasons  are  offered  for  the  Presi- 
dent's visiting  this  place  of  amusement.  The  first  is,  that  he 
needed  relaxation  from  the  severe  studies  and  close  application 
of  his  official  position;  and  that,  had  he  not  possessed  the 
happy  faculty  of  readily  la3nng  aside  occasionally  his  burden  of 
care,  his  life  and  health  would  not  have  been  preserved  to  us  so 
long  as  they  were.  The  second  reason  is  a  benevolent  one,  —  that 
the  public  papers  had  stated  that  da}^,  that  General  Grant  would 
be  present  at  the  theatre  that  evening;  and,  as  the  President  knew 
that  he  would  be  absent,  he  went  himself,  although  with  re- 
lu6lance,  so  that  the  audience  should  not  be  entirely  disap- 
pointed. Religious  decision,  however,  might  have  prevailed 
against  all  such  reasoning,  and  additional  safety  and  honor  been 
secured. 

But  Abraham  Lincoln  has  fallen.  The  work  that  was  given 
him  to  do,  he  finished.  We  deeply  mourn  for  him,  and  justly 
mourn;  and  we  shall  long  mourn  his  early  and  lamentable  death. 
Yet  we  mourn  as  those  w^ho  have  hope.  Although  President 
Lincoln  was   not  without   his   iniperfe6tions,  —  was   not  without 


Rev.  D.  L.  Hughes.  115 


shade  mingled  with  his  light,  yet  we  have  some  comforting  evi- 
dence that  our  loss  is  his  unspeakable,  eternal  gain,  —  that  he  has 
gone  to  that  "  better  country "  where  "  the  wricked  cease  from 
troubling,  and  where  the  weary  are  at  rest." 

And  now,  what  shall  we  say  of  his  murderer?  I  need  only 
say,  that  such  a  wretch  should  not  be  permitted  to  live;  that  his 
a6l  was  cowardly  and  awfully  wicked,  and  was  aimed  not  only 
at  the  head  of  the  President,  but  at  the  very  existence  of  our  en- 
tire Government,  It  is  the  first  assassination  of  one  whom  the 
people  delighted  to  honor  thus,  that  has  ever  occurred  in  our 
country.  And,  if  Cain  deserved  to  be  punished  sevenfold,  surely 
this  man  deserves  to  be  punished  seventy  and  seven  fold.  He 
perhaps  thought  his  murderous  a6f  would  be  aground  of  rejoicing 
and  boasting,  both  for  himself  and  others.  Few,  however,  out  of 
the  mass  have  rejoiced  at  it.  The  a6l  was  so  contrary  to  reason 
and  civilization,  and  so  shocks  the  most  common  sensibilities  of 
our  nature,  that  it  essentiall}'  forbids  even  the  semblance  of  de- 
light in  any  well-regulated  mind.  Such  an  a6l  could  not  have 
been  approved,  even  if  the  President  had  been  a  tyrant,  as  his 
assassin  so  falsely  declared  him  to  be;  much  less  when  he  was  a 
man  of  such  sterling  qualities  of  mind  and  heart,  and  stood  so  high 
in  the  affections,  confidence,  and  honors  of  a  grateful  people,  as  was 
evidenced  by  his  re-ele6tion  to  the  highest  office  in  our  nation's 
gift.  And  the  murderer  will  doubtless  learn,  before  his  case  is 
finally  settled,  that  it  afibrds  him  no  room  either  for  rejoicing  or 
boasting.  Condign  punishment  will  certainly,  sooner  or  later,  be 
visited  upon  his  guilty  head,  and  upon  all  his  accomplices.  But 
from  the  expressions  that  have  fallen  from  the  lips  of  a  few  per- 
sons, both  male  and  female,  we  see  the  animus  that  lurks  in  some 
souls.  All  such  have  been  the  abettors  of  the  foul  deed.  And, 
while  I  would  be  merciful,  I  cannot  restrain  my  intense  indigna- 
tion at  those  who,  when  the  most  atrocious  murder  of  the  age  has 


1 16  President  Lincob-Cs  Death. 

been  committed,  not  only  utter  the  most  unfeeling  epithets  against 
the  vi6lim,  but  openly  approve  of  the  horrible  massacre.  All 
such  persons  are  "  treasuring  up  to  themselves  w^rath  against  the  day 
of  wrath."  —  "O  my  soul!  come  not  thou  into  their  secret:  unto 
their  assembly,  mine  honor!  be  not  thou  united."  I  w^ould  only 
add,  that  it  would  seem  eminently  wise  and  just  for  Andrew  John- 
son, the  successor  of  President  Lincoln,  and  for  civil  officers 
everywhere,  to  treat  all  such  persons  as  are  found  guilty  of  such 
gross  violations  of  principle  in  speech  and  behavior,  as  Solomon, 
the  successor  of  King  David,  treated  Shimei,  who  shamefully  re- 
viled his  prince  during  his  son's  Absalom's  wicked  revolt.  They 
should  be  known  and  marked;  and,  if  not  held  really  as  prisoners 
at  large,  they  should,  at  least,  be  forewarned  of  the  certain  conse- 
quences of  their  evil  conduct;  while  their  names  should  be 
handed  down,  like  that  of  Shimei,  in  perpetual  infamy  to  the 
latest  posterity. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  eye  to  Vice-President  Johnson.  Sud- 
denl}^,  and  by  "  terrible  things  in  righteousness,"  hath  the  Most 
High,  who  "ruleth  in  the  kingdom  of  men,  and  giveth  it  to  whom- 
soever he  will,"  paved  the  way  for  his  promotion  to  the  Presi- 
dency of  these  United  States.  He  has  now  assumed  the  mighty 
responsibilities  of  his  predecessor  in  guiding  this  Ship  of  State, 
and  settling  the  great  issues  of  the  day.  May  the  mantle  of 
Elijah  fall  upon  Elisha!  Let  our  aff«(5lions,  and  our  prayers,  and 
our  support  be  now  extended  to  our  new  president.  We  regret 
his  fall,  and  the  reproach  —  deserved  or  not  —  brought  upon  him 
in  his  previous  inaugural  solemnities.  But  God  no  doubt  permit- 
ted it  all  for  wise  and  useful  ends.  Mr.  Johnson  was  thus  hum- 
bled, that  he  might  be  prepared  for  his  exaltation,  and  for  his  wise 
and  better  administration.  It  will  thus  be  overruled  to  his  and 
his  country's  greater  good.  It  will  make  him  more  watchful  over 
himself;  will  secure  to  him  more  the  prayers  of  God's  people, — 


Rev.  D.  L .  Htighes.  117 


and  will  thus  fit  him  the  better  for  discharging  aright  his  import- 
ant duties.  We  have  rejoiced,  however,  in  the  testimony  given 
by  several  eminent  men,  who  knew  Mr.  Johnson  well,  of  his 
almost  universally  corre6t  principles,  habits,  and  expressions;  and 
that  the  fall  to  w^hich  we  have  referred  was  an  exception  to  his 
established  course  of  condu6l,  caused  by  sickness,  and  a  combi- 
nation of  depressing  circumstances.  We  deeply  regret  President 
Lincoln's  death,  and  especially  the  manner  of  it.  But  his  work 
is  done,  and  it  was  well  done.  And  now  we  rejoice  that  Andrew 
Johnson  is  at  the  head  of  our  national  affairs;  for  we  believe 
that  God  has  a  special  work  for  him  to  do,  and  he  will  be  enabled 
to  execute  it  well  also.  AVe  believe  he  is  "  come  to  the  kingdom 
for  such  a  time  as  this,"  and  that  he  will  not  be  a  terror  to  good 
works,  but  will  be  to  the  evil.  Hence  -all  that  have  done  evil, 
and  shall  continue  to  do  evil,  may  well  be  afraid;  for  he  will  not 
bear  the  sword  in  vain:  for  he  is  the  minister  of  God,  a  revenger 
to  execute  wrath  upon  him  that  doeth  evil. 

It  is  a  remarkable  providence,  that  the  almost  universal  senti- 
ment is,  that  President  Lincoln  fell  at  the  most  auspicious  time 
both  for  himself  and  for  his  country,  —  that  although  slain  by  the 
mad  spirit  of  secession,  yet  in  his  death  the  South,  and  all  who 
sympathize  with  it,  lost  their  best  friend;  for,  in  the  overflowing 
kindness  and  magnanimity  of  his  heart,  he  would  likely  have  ex- 
tended an  amnesty  to  all  the  guilty,  which  would  have  satisfied 
neither  law  nor  justice,  and  which  would  have  secured  to  our 
land  neither  an  honorable  nor  a  permanent  peace.  While  the 
same  common  sentiment  is,  that  God  hath  raised  up  and  empow- 
ered Andrew  Johnson  to  do  what  President  Lincoln  could  not,  or 
perhaps  would  not,  do.  The  stern  administration  of  justice  is 
now  demanded  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  times;  and,  if  Presi- 
dent Johnson  should  become,  under  existing  circumstances, 
almost  an  extremist  in  the  severity  of  his  punishment  (which  we 


1 18  President  Lincoln s  Death. 

hope  he  will  not)  of  evil  doers,  there  would  be  many  in  the  North 
who  would  uphold  him  in  it. 

I  here  quote,  as  appropriate,  the  last  of  a  series  of  excellent 
resolutions  that  were  adopted  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Iowa, 
during  its  late  term  at  Davenport,  on  receipt  of  the  news  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln's  death:  — 

"  Resolved^  That  humanity,  law,  and  religion  unite  in  demanding,  that  there 
be  visited  upon  the  heads  of  the  wicked  leaders  of  this  most  wanton  and  inex- 
cusable rebellion,  which  has  filled  up  the  measure  of  its  iniquity  by  the  murder 
of  our  President,  as  soon  as  the  arm  of  the  Government  can  lay  hold  of  them, 
the  swift  and  terrible  punishment  justly  due  to  their  enormous  crimes." 

President  Johnson  is,  I  believe,  the  very  man  to  execute  this 
punishment.  He  is  described  b}^  one  who  has  long  known  him 
as  "  a  man  of  full  medium  stature,  compa6l,  and  strongly  built,  of 
dark  complexion,  and  deep-set  black  eyes.  He  is  of  bilious  tem- 
perament, strong  intelle6l,  indomitable  energy,  and  iron  will.  In 
his  chara6ler,  I  should  say  the  strongest  feature  of  all  is  that  of 
stern  justice,  and  a  general  hatred  of  all  forms  of  aristocracy  and 
oppression,  and  a  patriotism  so  ardent  that  it  amounts  to  a  passion, 
—  almost  a  religion.  In  Congress,  on  March  2d,  1861,  speaking 
of  traitors,  he  uttered  this  strong,  and  I  may  say  prophetic,  lan- 
guage, which  in  substance  has  been  lately  repeated:  "Were  I 
President  of  the  United  States,  I  would  do  as  Thomas  Jefferson 
did,  in  1806,  with  Aaron  Burr.  I  would  have  them  arrested;  and, 
if  convi<5led  within  the  meaning  of  and  scope  of  the  Constitution, 
by  the  Eternal  God!  I  would  execute  them."  These  are  solemn 
declarations,  but  eminently  wise,  just,  and  safe.  Such  a  man  is 
needed  just  now  at  the  helm  of  State,  and  God  has  given  him  to 
us.  Let  no  sickly  sentimentality,  no  mistaken  clemency,  pre- 
vail. Let  it  be  written  upon  our  inmost  heart,  as  with  "the  point 
of  a  diamond,"  that  mercy  to  the  ringleaders  of  this  awfully 
wicked  rebellion  is  cruelty  to  two  hundred  thousand  of  our  brave 


Rev.  D.  L.  Hughes.  119 


officers  and  soldiers,  who  have  fought,  bled,  and  died  to  win  our 
battles;  cruelty  to  the  thousands  of  weeping  widows  and  helpless 
orphans,  who  have  sacrificed  their  all  to  their  country's  cause; 
cruelty  to  loyal  Americans  everywhere,  who  have  poured  out 
their  treasures,  if  not  their  blood,  like  water,  to  preserve  our 
national  existence,  to  preserve  the  honor  of  our  national  flag,  and 
to  hand  down  to  our  children,  and  to  our  children's  children, 
all  of  our  free  institutions;  and  cruelty  to  all  nations  in  destroy- 
ing the  last  hope  of  any  noble  example  in  successfully  main- 
taining civil  and  religious  liberty  for  the  welfare  of  enslaved 
millions. 

When  President  Johnson  says,  "  To  the  honest  boy,  to  the 
deluded  man,  who  has  been  deceived  into  the  rebel  ranks,  I  would 
extend  leniency;  I  would  say,  renew  your  support  to  the  Govern- 
ment, and  become  good  citizens,  —  and  the  leaders  I  would  hang;  " 
I  say,  his  sentence  is  just,  —  his  decision  is  right.  The  honor  of 
violated  law,  human  and  divine,  must  be  vindicated;  merited 
punishment  must  be  inflicted  as  an  example  to  deter  others  from 
similar  crimes:  the  public  sense  of  justice  demands  it;  and  it  is 
essential  to  the  permanent  peace  and  prosperity  of  our  nation. 
"  Righteousness  and  peace  "  must  embrace  each  other.  And  with 
this  decided,  certain  punishment  staring  the  rebels  full  in  the  face, 
I  would  demand  of  them  an  u7iconditio7tal  surrender  and  submis- 
sion to  "  the  powers  that  be."  Nor  do  I  think  that  an}^  other 
terms  of  settlement  of  our  national  difficulties  should  be  offered 
by  our  Government  to  any  rebel  civilian,  rebel  officer,  or  rebel 
private,  or  be  accepted  by  our  military  authorities,  but  that  of  an 
unconditional  surrender.  No  property  reserved,  no  di6tation  per- 
mitted, no  arms  granted,  no  paroles  and  escorts  promised.  They 
must  yield  unconditionall}';  their  proud  and  rebellious  spirit,  as 
w^ell  as  their  military  power,  must  be  broken;  the  fatal  do6lrine 
of  State  Rights  being  superior  to  Federal  authority  must  be  anni- 


I20  President  Lincoh'Cs  Death. 

hilated,  —  otherwise,  peace. is  a  delusion.  Otherwise,  a  multitude 
of  rebels  —  like  Judge  Campbell,  of  Richmond,  Va.,  and  General 
Robert  E.  Lee,  of  the  late  rebel  army — will  still  insolently  attack 
our  Government;  will  arrogantly  claim  exemption  from  all  pun- 
ishment for  the  most  ambitious  and  causeless  arch  -  traitors 
who  have  deluged  our  land  with  blood  and  tears,  and  will  still 
strive  to  rule  the  destinies  of  our  country.  But  we  cannot  bear 
to  lose  all  the  treasure  that  has  been  expended,  and  all  the  tears 
that  have  been  shed,  and  all  the  blood  that  has  been  spilled  for 
the  last  four  years  in  this  wicked  w^ar,  to  perpetuate  our  national 
life,  for  nothing.  No,  no!  Never/  Far  better  will  it  be  to  pro- 
tra6t  the  war,  if  necessary,  four  years  longer,  until  our  work  is 
fully  done;  to  subjugate  the  South  entirely,  if  necessary  to  crush 
the  wicked  spirit  of  rebellion;  better  waste  the  inhabitants  thereof 
almost  totally,  as  Benjamin  of  old  was  wasted  for  first  winking  at 
a  grievous  crime,  and  then  proudly  def^^ing  their  brethren,  the 
children  of  Israel,  who  justly  warred  against  it;  yea,  better,  as 
a  last  resort,  arm  every  slave,  and  give  them  not  only  their  free- 
dom for  fighting  for  their  own  and  our  country's  deliverance  from 
every  species  of  bondage,  but  also  the  lands  upon  which  they 
fight,  many  of  which  are  justly  their  own,  as  they  have  been  pur- 
chased by  the  toil  and  the  blood  and  the  sale  of  their  forefathers 
and  of  themselves,  as  their  future  homes,  and  let  them  rule  them 
as  they  please,  always,  of  course,  under  the  control  of  the  national 
Government,  with  which  Government  they  would  cheerfully  co- 
operate, and  to  which  they  would  prove  also  a  strong  bulwark. 
All  this  is  a  sad  alternative.  But,  if  the  rebel  South  drive  us  to 
it,  the  whole  work  is  feasible.  It  will  certainly  be  easier  to  do  all 
this,  than  it  was  to  do  what  has  already  been  done.  Let  there 
be,  then,  no  wavering.  Then  will  this  nation  have  safety  and 
peace;  and  we  fear  that  she  never  will  until  her  kingdom  thus 
comes. 


Rev.  D.  L.  Hughes.  121 


Human  governments  are  wisest  and  safest  in  their  principles 
and  a6tions  in  proportion  as  they  pattern  after  the  divine  govern- 
ment. But  God  carries  on,  by  varied  and  adapted  agencies,  a 
relentless  and  perpetual  war  against  every  rebel  sinner,  just  in 
proportion  to  his  guilt  of  violated  light  and  law,  until  he  yields  an 
unconditional  submission.  To  be  saved,  he  must  give  up  every 
thing,  and  yield  to  God's  own  terms,  before  the  contest  ceases. 
Just  so  with  our  Government.  It  should  continue  its  war  against 
every  rebel.  North  or  South,  without  wavering  and  without  ces- 
sation, until  they  yield  an  unconditional  submission  to  the  right- 
fully constituted  authorities  of  the  nation.  And  if  any  difference 
is  to  be  made  in  the  degree  of  punishment  inflicted,  or  in  the  favor 
shown,  it  should  be  in  behalf  of  the  deluded  privates,  rather  than 
of  the  guilty  leaders  who  have  taught  rebellion  and  ruin,  and  who 
deserve  as  justly  to  be  certainly  punished  as  did  J.  Wilkes  Booth 
deserve  it  for  his  villanous  murder. 

And,  as  Jehovah  makes  rebel  sinners  "willing  in  the  day  of 
his  power"  to  submit  to  his  commands,  just  so  will  this  Govern- 
ment, aided  by  that  same  Almighty  Power,  effe6lually  subdue  the 
spirit  and  the  strength  of  that  people  who  have  so  madly  and 
so  wickedly  dared  to  rebel  against  its  wise  and  just  authority. 
Then  will  our  triumphant  and  final  song  be,  "  Not  unto  us,  O 
Lord !  not  unto  us,  but  unto  thy  name,  give  glory,  for  thy  mercy 
and  for  thy  truth's  sake."  —  "This  is  the  Lord's  doing:  it  is  mar- 
vellous in  our  eyes." 

I  will  close  with  three  pra6tical  remarks :  — 

I  St.  National  existence^  xidXxoVidX  law,  national  order,  must  be 
preserved  at  all  hazards,  —  at  the  risk  and  expense  of  life,  limb, 
and  treasure.  Those  who  violate  or  trample  upon  either  will 
sooner  or  later  be  surely  and  sorely  punished,  the  abettors  as  well 
as  the  perpetrators  of  deeds  of  enormous  wickedness.  Let  all 
rebels,  then,  and  murderers,  and  lawless  and  disobedient  persons, 

16 


122  •  Presidcjtt  Lincoln s  Death. 

beware;  for  the  Chief  INIagistrate  and  civil  officers  everywhere  do 
not  bear  the  sword  in  vain. 

2d.  Let  every  man  be  a  loyal  7nan,  —  loyal  to  his  country 
and  loyal  to  his  God.  Let  him  feel  his  personal  responsibility 
to  man,  and  also  his  personal  responsibility  to  God,  —  his  duty  to 
submit  to  and  obey  both  human  and  divine  governments.  Let 
him  "  render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  unto 
God  the  things  that  are  God's."  Let  him  be  a  true  patriot,  and 
also  a  true  Christian.  They  are  not  inconsistent.  And  he  who 
loves  God  supremely,  and  his  neighbor  as  himself,  will  love  his 
countr}^  and  government  also.  Wherefore  "  let  every  soul  be 
subje6l  unto  the  higher  powers,  —  not  only  for  wrath,  but  also  for 
conscience'  sake." 

3d.  If  the  mighty  fall  what  shall  become  of  the  weak?  If 
Princes  lie  in  the  dust,  and  go  down  to  the  dark  grave,  where 
shall  the  lowly  be  found  ?  The  lesson  taught  each  of  us  from 
these  sad  reflexions  is,  "  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,"  whenever 
and  however  he  comes.  "Be  ye  also  ready;  for,  in  such  an  hour 
as  ye  think  not,  the  Son  of  man  cometh." 

Des  Moines,  lotva,  Dally  State  Rcgistc}.,  May  11,  1S65. 


DEATH    OF   PRESIDENT   LINCOLN: 


A    DISCOURSE    DELIVERED    BEFORE    THE    "  FRIENDS  OF  PROGRESS,"  IN  STUART's 
HALL,  BATTLE    CREEK,    MICH.,    APRIL    I9,    1S65  ; 

BY   REV.   MOSES   HULL. 


SUCH  deep  and  universal  mourning,  as  there  is  to-day,  the 
history  of  the  world  has  never  recorded.  Every  loyal  heart 
beats  heavily;  every  voice  speaks  in  a  subdued  tone;  every  pulpit 
in  the  land  is  draped  in  deepest  mourning.  The  crape  on  the 
door  of  the  house  of  every  loyal  American  fails  to  illustrate 
the  grief  of  the  American  people.  We  mourn  not  only  the  loss 
of  one  who  filled  the  highest  office  in  the  power  of  the  American 
people  to  bestow,  but  the  greatest  man,  absolutely  the  greatest,  of 
the  nineteenth  century  has  fallen.  Such  mental  wails,  such  gi-ief 
and  indignation,  as  come  to  us  from  all  portions  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  show  the  warmth  of  the  attachment  of  the 
people  for  their  martyred  statesman.  No  event  within  our 
nation's  history  has  excited  such  deep  and  heartfelt  emotions  of 
sorrow. 

Language  fails  to  exhibit  our  loss,  or  depi6l  the  true  character 
of  him  for  whom  we  mourn.  An  adequate  idea  of  the  magna- 
nimity and  unselfish  patriotism  of  our  lamented  President  cannot 
be  given,  nor  can  any  eulogy  place  him  in  a  higher  position  in 
the  hearts  of  the  American  people. 


124  Death  of  President  Lincoln. 

The  following,  from  the  Chicago  "Tribune,"  so  perfeftl}^  ex- 
presses our  feelings,  that  we  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to 
quote  it:  — 

"  Lincoln  has  been  indeed  a  mild,  loving  father  of  his  country ;  and 
whether  in  the  future  it  be  possible  to  produce  his  equal,  most  certainly  not  in 
the  past  or  in  the  present  has  a  ruler  ever  lived  who  has  adled  with  one-hun- 
dredth part  of  the  magnanimity  displayed  uniformly  by  our  late  President. 
Well  may  the  rebels  expe6l  to  hear  from  the  lips  of  Johnson  the  re^oly  made  by 
Rehoboam  to  the  old  men,  '  My  father  did  beat  you  with  whips  ;  but  I  will 
chastise  you  with  scorpions.'  Subsequent  events  will  show  that  they  have 
jumped  out  of  the  frying-pan  into  the  fire.  The  deed  was  altogether  without 
excuse,  —  equalled  only  in  enormity  by  the  intent  of  Satan  to  pluck  the  Almighty 
from  his  throne. 

"  Well  may  the  nation  weep,  —  fountains  of  tears.  In  Abraham  Lincoln,  we 
have  lost  one  whose  place  can  never  be  filled,  either  in  the  Executive  chair  or  in 
our  aftedlions.  Who  but  he  could  have  brought  us  safely  through  this  fiery 
trial,  landing  us  on  teri'a  Jirma,  yet  so  gently  that  we  scarcely  feel  the  shock  ? 
Our  kind  father  and  wise  counsellor  is  gone.  Our  grief  at  his  loss  to  ourselves 
is  so  great,  that  we  can  scarce  spare  a  thought  to  his  bereaved  family.  We 
were  all  his  children.  All  loved  and  guarded  equally  by  him.  In  his  loss,  we 
mourn  a  parent.  His  own  family  scarce  loved  him  more  dearly  than  the  great 
heart  of  the  American  people." 

'  Yes,  the  greatest  and  best  of  men  has  been  taken  from  us. 
He  has  fallen  while  in  the  zenith  of  his  glory.  Indeed,  we  only 
express  the  opinion  we  have  for  years  entertained,  when  we  say, 
that  a  glory  belongs  to  Lincoln,  compared  with  which,  that  of 
all  other  statesmen  fades  like  the  lustre  of  the  stars  before  the 


rismg  sun. 


Washington,  the  Father  of  this  Republic,  was  no  more  true, 
noble,  and  patriotic,  than  was  Lincoln,  its  Saviour  and  Redeemer. 

"  How  are  the  mighty  fallen !  "  Lincoln  is  gone.  It  remains 
for  us  to  trace  his  history,  that  we  may  realize  the  extent  of  our 
loss.  Loss,  did  I  say.?  I  take  it  back.  Lincoln  is  neither  dead 
nor  asleep.     He  is  alive  to-day,  and  as  earnestly  and  patriotically 


Rev.  Moses  Hull.  125 


working  for  the  cause  of  human  freedom  as  when  he  was  here  in 
the  flesh.  He  has  only  ceased  to  preside  over  a  Congress  of 
mortals,  to  join  the  band  of  immortal  statesmen.  He  has  entered 
the  heavenly  Congress,  and  works  as  untiringly  in  behalf  of  the 
stars  and  stripes,  as  during  the  days  of  his  earthly  tabernacle. 

HIS      HISTORY. 

I  have  only  time  to  give  a  synopsis  of  his  life,  which  I  have 
condensed  from  the  daily  journals. 

He  was  born  of  poor  parents,  in  La  Rue  County,  Kentucky, 
in  the  year  1809.  In  18 16,  when  he  was  eight  years  old,  his  father 
moved  to  Indiana.  He  perhaps  received  in  all  near  one  year's 
educating.  In  1830,  he  removed  to  Illinois.  After  a  trip  to  New 
Orleans,  on  a  flat-boat,  he  became  a  clerk  in  a  store  at  New  Salem, 
Menard  ( then  Sangamon  )  County.  On  the  breaking-out  of  the 
Black-Hawk  war,  in  1832,  he  joined  a  volunteer  company,  and  was  " 
ele6led  its  captain.  He  served  for  three  months  in  the  campaign, 
and  on  his  return  was  nominated  as  a  Whig  candidate  for  the 
legislature;  but,  the  county  being  Democratic,  he  was  defeated, 
though  his  own  ele6lion-distri6t  gave  him  two  hundred  and 
seventy-seven  votes,  with  only  seven  against  him.  He  w^as  after- 
wards appointed  postmaster  at  New  Salem,  and  then  began  to 
study  law.  During  the  same  time,  he  pra6lised  surveying, 
although  without  any  instru6tion  beyond  what  he  had  obtained  by 
reading  a  single  treatise  on  that  subject.  In  1834,  he  was  elected 
to  the  legislature,  by  the  highest  vote  ever  cast  for  any  candidate ; 
and  was  re-ele6ted  in  1836,  '38,  '40.  In  1836,  he  obtained  a 
license  to  pra6lise  law;  and  in  April,  1837,  removed  to  Spring- 
field, and  went  into  partnership  with  Hon.  T.  Stuart.  He  rose 
rapidly  in  distin6lion  in  his  profession,  and  was  especially  eminent 
as  an  advocate.  In  1844,  he  was  presidential  ele6lor  in  favor 
of  Henry  Clay,  and  canvassed  the  entire  State,  and  the  State  of 


126  Death  of  President  Lincoln. 


Indiana,  in  his  behalf,  addressing  large  audiences  with  marked 
success. 

In  1846,  he  was  ele6led  a  Representative  to  Congress,  from 
the  Central  Distri6t  of  Illinois.  In  Congress,  he  voted  for  the 
reception  of  antislavery  memorials  and  petitions;  for  the  motions 
of  Mr.  Giddings  for  committees  to  inquire  into  the  constitution- 
ality of  slavery  in  the  Distri6l  of  Columbia,  and  the  expediency 
of  abolishing  the  slave  trade  in  the  Distri6t,  and  other  like  propo- 
sitions. He  voted  for  the  Wilmot  Proviso,  every  time  it  was 
presented  to  the  House.  In  January,  1840,  he  offered  to  the 
House  a  scheme  for  abolishing  slavery  in  the  District,  by  com- 
pensating the  slaveholders  from  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States,  provided  a  majority  of  the  people  of  the  Distri6t  should 
vote  to  accept  the  proposal.  He  opposed  the  annexation  of 
Texas,  but  voted  for  the  Loan  Bill  to  enable  the  Government  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  the  Mexican  war.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a 
member  of  the  Whig  National  Convention  of  1848,  and  urged 
the  re-nomination  of  General  Taylor.  In  1849,  he  was  a  candidate 
for  the  United-States  Senate;  but  the  legislature  was  Democratic, 
and  ele6ted  General  Shields.  After  the  expiration  of  his  congres- 
sional term,  Mr.  Lincoln  applied  himself  to  his  profession,  until 
the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  called  him  again  into  the 
political  arena.  He  entered  with  energy  into  the  work  which 
was  to  decide  the  choice  of  a  senator  in  place  of  General  Shields; 
and  it  was  mainly  due  to  his  exertions,  that  the  triumph  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  the  ele6tion  of  Judge  Trumbull  to  the  Sen- 
ate, was  attributed.  At  the  Republican  National  Convention  in 
1856,  which  nominated  General  Fremont  for  the  Presidency,  the 
Illinois  delegation  unanimously  urged  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln for  the  Vice  Presidency.  The  contest  between  Mr.  Lincoln 
and  Judge  Do.uglas,  in  1858,  is  familiar  to  all,  and  need  not  be 
recapitulated.     It  is  only  necessary  to  say,  that,  notwithstanding 


Rev.  Moses  Hull.  127 


the  friends  of  Judge  Douglas  secured  a  majority  of  the  legisla- 
ture, the  popular  vote  was  in  favor  of  Mr.  Lincoln  by  over  four 
thousand  majority. 

On  the  eighteenth  day  of  May,  i860,  the  Republican  National 
Convention,  which  assembled  in  Chicago,  nominated  Mr.  Lincoln 
for  President  of  the  United  States,  and  that  nomination  was  rati- 
fied by  the  people  at  the  following  November  election.  The 
history  of  the  dead  patriot  and  statesman  from  that  period  to 
the  hour  when  he  fell  a.  martyr  to  the  cause  of  human  liberty  is 
as  familiar  to  the  world  as  household  words. 

It  might  not  be  amiss  here  to  say  a  word  with  regard  to  the 

CIRCUMSTANCES    UNDER    WHICH    HE    TOOK    THE    CHAIR. 

For  years,  the  antislavery  sentiment  had  been  gaining  ground, 
insomuch  that  the  South  had  fully  decided  to  use  the  first  oppor- 
tunity to  secede  from  the  Government.  This  decision  was  made 
more  than  thirty  years  ago,  long  before  Lincoln  was  ever  thought 
of  for  President.  His  election,  of  course,  gave  them  the  desired 
pretext.  When  he  took  the  chair,  some  of  the  States  had  already 
rebelled,  and  prepared  for  open  hostilities.  Three-fourths,  yea, 
nine-tenths  of  the  military  strength  of  this  nation  was  in  the 
South.  He  enters  upon  his  duties  with  a  gigantic  rebellio7i  on  his 
hands,  without  an  army,  without  a  navy,  in  short,  without  any 
resource  whatever  to  extinguish  the  fires  of  the  greatest  rebellion 
since  the  fabled  "  Lucifer,"  "  the  son  of  the  morning,"  rebelled  in 
heaven.  With  all  this  on  his  hands,  Lincoln  undertakes  to  pilot 
the  Ship  of  State  through  the  storm.  Has  he  succeeded  ?  Let  the 
history  of  the  nation  tell. 

Our  lamented  President  entered  upon  his  duties  with  an 
unflinching  determination  to  put  the  rebellion  down,  and  yet  with 
a  leniency  such  as  human  history  never  before  recorded.  To  the 
South  he  said  in  his  Inaugural  Address, — 


128  Dca  th  of  P res 2  den  t  L  in  coin . 

"  In  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow-countrymen,  and  not  in  mine,  is  the 
momentous  issue  of  civil  war.     The  Government  will  not  assail  you. 

"  You  can  have  no  conflidt  without  being  yourselves  the  aggressors.  You 
have  no  oath  registered  in  heaven  to  destroy  the  Government ;  while  I  shall  have 
the  most  solemn  one  to  '  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  it.'  " 

What  more  could  they  ask.^  With  the  positive  pledge  that 
the  Government  would  not  assail  them,  w^ho  could  but  think 
that  they  would  ground  their  weapons?  But  the  old  proverb, 
"  The  gods  first  make  mad  those  whom  they  would  destroy,"  was 
good  in  their  case.  How  pleadingly  our  President  besought  them 
to  desist  from  their  hellish  designs !     Hear  him  once  more :  — 

"  I  am  loath  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies,  but  friends.  We  must  not  be 
enemies.  Though  passion  may  have  strained,  it  must  not  break  our  bonds  of 
aftedtion. 

"  The  mystic  cords  of  memory,  stretching  from  every  battle-field  and  patriot 
grave  to  eveiy  living  heart  and  hearthstone  all  over  this  broad  land,  will  yet 
swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union,  when  again  touched,  as  surely  they  will  be,  by 
the  better  angels  of  our  nature." 

Let  copperheads,  who  have  howled  so  long  and  vociferously 
about  Lincoln  and  "  Lincoln's  war,"  "  Nigger  war,"  &c.,  read  and 
and  r^-read  this,  and  hide  their  faces  for  very  shame.  Let  them 
know  that  their  misrepresentations  of  the  patriotic  Abraham  have 
spilled  his  blood;  their  journals  and  speeches  have  stijnulated  such 
men  as  Booth  to  deeds  they  never  wotild  dared  to  have  done  under 
other  circumstances.  Let  them  know  that  they  are  responsible 
for  the  death  of  our  President.  Their  misrepresentations  of 
Lincoln  and  his  administration  are  enough  to  make  "  e'en  a  devil 
blush." 

Mr.  Lincoln's  history,  for  the  past  five  years,  is  known  and 
read  by  all  men.  I  need  not  repeat  it:  only  let  me  show  that  he 
has  fairly  earned  the  title  of  the  Emancipator. 

I  St.  In  March,  1862,  he  sent  a  message  to  Congress  recom- 
mending ^"^  gradual  emancipatio7iy 


Rev.  Moses  Htill. 


129 


2d.  In  April  following,  he  consummated  an  a6l  which  had 
been  on  his  mind  for  many  years;  viz.,  abolished  slavery  in  the 
Distri6l  of  Columbia:  thus  permitting  thousands,  who  had  never 
before  drawn  a  free  breath,  to  say,  "  We  are  free ;''''  "for  the  first 
time  in  our  lives,  we  own  ourselves." 

3d.  Follow  him  but  six  months  further,  to  Sept.,  1862, 
and  he  makes  known  his  determination  to  issue  an  order,  on  the 
first  of  January  following,  freeing  every  slave  in  the  rebel  States. 
"Will  he  do  it?  "  was  in  everybody's  mouth.  "  He  won't  dare," 
said  some  of  the  Copperheads;  "  there  will  be  a  bigger  rebellion  in 
the  North  than  there  is  in  the  South."  —  "  It's  unconstitutional," 
said  others;  while  many  of  us,  who  had  for  years  been  praying 
that  slavery's  chains  might  be  broken,  feared  he  would  shrink 
from  the  task.  But  when  the  first  of  January  arrived,  true  to  his 
proclamation,  he  "  breaks  every  37oke,"  looses  "  the  heavy  bur- 
dens," and  says  to  the  oppressed,  "  Go  free  ^  Truly,  future  gene- 
rations will  call  him  blessed ;  and  those  who  have  hitherto  been 
manacled  by  the  galling  chains  of  slavery  can  regard  him  as  no 
less  than  their  Redeemer. 

Here  permit  us  to  take  our  leave  of  the  life  of  the  President, 
and  for  a  few  moments  speak  of  his  death.  What  shall  we  say 
of  his  murderer,  —  the  fiend,  who  in  cold  blood  robbed  him  of  the 
remainder  of  his  earthly  existence,  and  our  country  of  its  Chief 
Magistrate  and  best  man  ?  Oh  the  blackness  of  his  crime !  One 
before  which  all  others  sink  into  insignificance.  Even  the  crucify- 
ing of  Jesus  whitens  into  innocence,  compared  with  the  assassina- 
tion of  Mr.  Lincoln.  Christ  had  denounced  wrath  upon  his  cru- 
cifiers,  and  there  was  reason  to  fear  that  he  would  overturn  their 
kingdom.  Not  so  in  this  case;  for,  sustaining  and  qw^v). purifying 
the  best  government  in  the  world,  our  President  lays  down  his  life. 

We  feel  justified  in  saying,  that  Judas,  who  betrayed  his  Lord, 
was  an  angel  of  light  compared  with  —  shall  I  say  it?     I  will!  — 

17 


130  Death  of  President  L incohi. 

the  demon  damned  who  robbed  us  of  our  more  than  immortal 
President. 

Are  there  tears,  or  is  there  blood  enough,  in  all  the  Southern 
Confederacy  to  make  atonement?  No!  As  well  speak  of  the 
viper  expiating  the  crime  of  stinging  an  angel  to  death.  The 
Chicago  "  Tribune  "  well  says,  "  There  can  be  no  palliation,  no 
mitigation,  of  the  terrible  deed.  It  was  premeditated,  cold- 
blooded, devilish;  without  the  shadow  of  excuse,  and  perpetrated 
without  the  incentive  of  offence.  History,  ancient  or  modern, 
whether  in  the  days  of  Caesar,  or  in  the  days  of  Borgia,  furnishes 
no  parallel  to  his  bloody  deed.  He  has  damned  himself  to  eter- 
nal infamy,  and  will  live  in  history  linked  with  ^the  fool  who 
fired  the  Ephesian  fane,'  —  a  name  to  be  shuddered  at,  to  be 
mentioned  only  with  horror.  His  death  will  be  no  compensation 
for  our  loss,  but  will  carry  with  it  one  consolation,  —  that  the 
world  has  one  less  monster." 

But  our  President  has  passed  on.  Gone  to  his  angel  home. 
How  I  should  like  to  have  stood  by  his  bedside,  and  mingled 
my  tears  with  those  of  statesmen  who  sobbed  aloud  to  know  that 
he  must  leave  them ! 

Yea;  rather  how  much  greater  the  privilege  to  be  clairvoyant 
and  claraudient,  and  see  him  pass  from  wife,  children,  states- 
men, and  friends  below  to  join  the  holy  hosts  of  martyrs,  and  hear 
their  glad  greeting  and  welcomings!  Oh,  think  of  the  happy 
meeting,  as  the  spirits  of  '76  gather  around  him!  As  the  "gates" 
open,  and  the  "  everlasting  doors  "  to  the  eternal  world  swing  back, 
I  seem  to  see  Washington  clasp  his  hand,  and  welcome  him  to 
that  better  "  country  "  where  all  anxiety  is  gone,  and  he  is  for  ever 
beyond  the  gunshot  of  the  traitor,  or  sabre  of  the  assassin. 

Adams,  Monroe,  Hancock,  Jefferson,  Jackson,  Clay,  Webster, 
and  Douglas,  all  bid  him  join  their  Congress,  and  work  in  a  sphere 
where  his  labors  will  be  crowned  with  tenfold  the  success  ever 


Rev.  Moses  Hull.  131 


known  upon  earth.  Is  that  all?  No!  I  see  "  Old  John  Brown," 
— who  went  before  Lincoln,  as  John  the  Baptist  went  before  Jesus 
the  Nazarene,  —  whose  soul  has  been  marching  on  for  six  years, 
welcome  Lincoln  as  slavery's  last  martyr.  But  this  is  not  all:  see 
the  tens  of  thousands  of  soldiers,  whose  blood  has  stained  every 
battle-field  in  the  South,  who  died  to  save  their  country  from  the 
traitorous  hands  oFthose  who  would  trample  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
under  their  feet,  give  him  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  and  wel- 
come him  to  their  celestial  land.  But  a  more  affe6ling  sight  is 
yet  before  us :  the  poor  slave,  whose  bitter  experience  tells  better 
than  all  things  else  the  horrors  and  degradation  of  slavery,  ap- 
proaches the  Emancipator,  —  the  last  to  drink  the  bitter  cup  of 
death  in  consequence  of  the  institution;  and,  as  he  throws  his  arms 
around  his  neck,  I  hear  him  cry  out,  '^'^  Br  ess  de  Lord!''''  and  thous- 
ands freed  by  his  proclamations,  join  him  in  bidding  him  welcome 
to  the  "  land  of  the  free."  The  happy  greeting  of  one  freed  slave 
is  more  than  enough  to  repay  for  all  blood  that  has  been  shed  to 
get  slavery  out  of  the  way. 

RESULTS. 

In  the  massacre  of  our  President,  the  South  have  dashed  the 
chalice  containing  the  healing  balm  of  mercy  to  atoms.  Justice 
takes  its  place ;  and  to-day  the  olive  branch,  which  was  yesterday 
kindly  vouchsafed,  is  withdrawn:  the  only  cord  of  mercy  has 
been  severed  by  their  own  hands.  Now  that  we  have  learned  that 
mercy  means  nothing  less  than  nursing  a  viper  to  sting  us  to 
death,  the  North  is  ready  to  say,  in  language  backed  up  by  every 
drop  of  Northern  blood,  if  need  be,  "Let  justice,  stern  and  harsh, 
have  its  way."  In  the  language  of  another,  we  say.  Yesterday  we 
were,  with  the  late  President,  for  lenity;  he  had  been  so  often 
right  and  wise;  he  had  so  won  upon  our  confidence  that  we  were 
preparing  to  follow  and  support  him  in  a  policy  of  conciliatory 


132  Death  of  President  L incoln. 

kindness:  to-day  we  are  with  the  people  for  justice.  Henceforth, 
let  us  treat  this  hell-born  outbreak  of  slaveholdinof  fiends  as  a 
rebellion.  We  ask  not  vengeance,  but  the  justice  which  Abra- 
ham Lincoln's  clemency  would  have  withheld. 

They  have  slain  their  mediators,  their  best  friends;  now  let 
them  feel  the  force  of  righteous,  retributive  justice.  They  have 
been  barbarous  before,  —  at  Fort  Pillow,  at  Andersonville,  and  at 
Libby  Prison.  They  have  massacred  our  troops  after  surrender, 
starved  our  prisoners,  broken  their  paroles,  and  fought  us  without 
exchange;  they  have  laid  plots  to  burn  and  massacre  in  our 
Northern  cities;  they  have  sunk  to  every  depth  of  meanness. 
There  is  no  manliness,  no  chivalry,  no  honor  in  them.  From 
the  fugitive  Jeff.  Davis,  the  royal  Bengal  tiger  of  this  "  den  of 
uncaged  beasts,"  down  to  the  meanest  Copperhead  whelp  that 
yelps  about  "  tyrant  Lincoln  "  and  the  "  nigger  war,"  they  are  all 
inspired  by  the  same  accursed  spirit  of  murderous  hatred  for 
every  thing  that  confli6ls  with  human  slavery,  and  for  everybody 
wiio  thinks  the  Lord  Christ  better  than  Legree.  Booth,  who 
committed  this  murder,  is  but  the  representative  of  the  class 
which  made  up  the  American  Knights,  Sons  of  Liberty,  and 
other  similar  organizations.  He  was  no  more  a  Southerner  than 
most  of  them.  Born  and  bred  in  Baltimore,  living  among  pro- 
slavery  Democrats  before  the  war,  and  among  Copperheads  since, 
he  is  just  enough  of  a  rebel  to  be  a  good  sample  of  Copperhead- 
ism, —  no  more,  no  less.  All  he  knows  of  politics  is  "to  curse 
the  nigger,  and  curse  the  Lincoln  Government."  This  is  the 
whole  rebel  and  Copperhead  creed.  Whoever  has  this  creed  is 
fitted,  in  all  except  courage,  to  do  as  Booth  did.  He  hates  lib- 
erty, and  loves  despotism.  So  far  from  hating  the  negro,  this  very 
class  like  slavery,  mainly  because  it  gives  them  a  black  mistress, 
and  black  servants  at  each  elbow.  The  negro  enslaved,  they 
love,  and  will   die   rather  than  give  him   up.      The   negro   free. 


Rev.  Moses  Hull.  133 


they  hate;  and  would  exterminate  not  only  him,  but  every  white 
man  who  believes  he  ought  to  be  free.  So,  then,  it  is  not  the 
negro,  but  his  freedom,  that  they  hate;  not  the  black  man,  but 
slavery,  that  they  love.  This  proslavery  creed  is  a  crime  against 
human  nature,  —  an  index  of  depravity  in  the  heart.  Whoever 
entertains  it  is  an  enemy  of  mankind,  and  lacks  only  Booth's 
couraere  to  commit  his  crime. 

CONCLUSION. 

Lincoln  still  works.  Think  you  he  could  be  happy  shut  up 
in  a  heaven,  "  beyond  the  bounds  of  time  and  space,"  where  there 
is  nothing  for  him  to  do  ?  No !  His  voice  will  ring  more  melo- 
diously for  freedom  in  the  future  than  it  ever  has  in  the  past.  He 
will  still  blaze  out  the  way  for  patriots :  let  us  only  follow  in  his 
footsteps,  and  soon  our  country  will  arise  in  a  splendor  hitherto 
unknown.  As  the  blood  of  our  martyred  soldiers  enriches  the 
fields  of  the  South,  so  will  the  lives  lost  enrich  us  in  true  Repub- 
licanism; and  when  our  country  shall  have  been  redeemed, 
without  the  stain  of  slavery  upon  it,  and  we  shall  have  learned 
the  worth  of  a  redeemed  Republic  by  its  cost,  then  will  we  be 
prepared  as  never  before  to  appreciate  the  beauties  of  a  Republi- 
can Government.  Then,  and  not  till  then,  will  a  halo  of  glory 
settle  upon  our  country,  with  which  the  glory  of  the  past  will 
compare  as  the  dim,  flickering  taper  upon  the  hearthstone  com- 
pares with  the  splendor  of  the  noonday  sun. 

"  His  toils  are  past,  his  work  is  done, 
His  spirit  fully  blest; 
He  fought  ithe  fight,  the  vicftory  won. 
And  entered  into  rest. 

Then  let  our  sorrows  cease  to  flow, 

God  has  recalled  his  own; 
But  let  our  hearts  in  every  woe 

Still  say,  '  Thy  will  be  done.'  " 

The  Progressive  Age,  Battle  Creek,  Mick. 


NATIONAL  JOY   AND    SORROW   COMMINGLED: 

A  SERMON   DELIVERED    IN   THE   SIXTH   PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH,   PHILADELPHIA, 

PENN.,   JUNE    I,    1865  ; 

BY     REV.     GEORGE     JUNKIN,     D.D., 

LATE    PRESIDENT    OF   WASHINGTON    COLLEGE,    VA. 


Jer.  ix.  I  :  "  Oh  that  my  head  were  waters,  and  mine  eyes  a  fountain  of  tears,  that  I  might 
weep  day  and  night  for  the  slain  of  the  daughter  of  my  people  !  " 

A  NATION'S  calamities,  like  an  individual's,  spring  not  up  out 
of  the  dust.  They  are  not  a  spontaneity  in  any  infidel  sense 
of  the  word;  not  accidents,  as  the  world  of  unthinking  men  talk. 
There  are  none  such  in  the  Government  as  God.  They  have  their 
root  in  sin,  and  hence  they  spring  up.  Hath  there  been  evil  in 
the  city,  and  the  Lord  hath  not  done  it?  Physical  evils  are  effe6ts 
of  moral  delinquency.  By  the  former,  the  Governor  of  the  world 
expresses  his  abhorrence  of  the  latter;  and  here  we  have  the 
elementary  idea  of  moral  governmenl:.  Destroy  the  conne6tion 
between  sin  and  suffering,  and  you  shake  the  very  foundations  of 
social  order;  and,  if  these  be  destroyed,  what  can  ever  the  right- 
eous do?  Where  are  there  any  guarantees  for  government? 
Hence  the  divine  declaration,  "  Though  hand  join  in  hand,'  the 
wicked  shall  not  go  unpunished."  Social  bodies,  even  those  most 
in  favor  with  God,  cannot  be  exempt  from  this  law.  "  You  only 
have   I   known  of  all   the   families  of  the  earth,  therefore  will  I 


Rev.  George  yiifikin,  D.D.  135 


punish  you  for  all  your  iniquities."  Sooner  or  later,  yet  in  this 
world,  national  sins  must  be  punished.  The  Lord,  who  is  the 
Governor  among  the  nations,  must  and  will  vindicate  in  manifest- 
ing his  justice.  We  have  greatly  offended,  or  we  would  not  be  as 
we  are  this  day. 

April  14,  A. D.,  1865,  —  what  a  day  of  joy  and  exultation! 
Twenty  millions  of  people  send  forth  the  glad  sounds  of  thanks- 
giving to  the  Lord;  for  he  hath  triumphed  gloriously:  the  horse 
and  his  rider  hath  he  cast  into  the  sea. 

April  15,  A.D.,  1865,  —  what  a  day  of  wailing,  lamentation,  and 
woe!  Twenty-five  millions  of  people  fall  down  in  the  dust  before 
the  offended  Majesty  of  heaven,  and  send  forth  the  agonizing 
shriek,  "How  long,  Lord?  Wilt  thou  be  angry  for  ever?  Why 
doth  thine  anger  smoke  against  the  .sheep  of  thy  pasture  ? " 
Oh,  what  a  change  was  that!  How  sudden!  how  unexpefted! 
how  appalling!  From  th* effulgent  noon  of  a  nation's  glory  and 
exultation,  in  view  of  union  and  peace,  into  a  dark  midnight  of 
worse  than  Egyptian  gloom  and  sorrow  and  wailing! 

Now,  whence  comes  all  this,  under  the  government  of  a  kind 
and  gracious  sovereign  ?  "  Behold,  the  Lord's  hand  is  not  short- 
ened, that  it  cannot  save;  neither  his  ear  heavy,  that  it  cannot 
hear.  But  your  iniquities  have  separated  between  you  and  your 
God;  and  your  sins  have  hid  his  face  from  you,  that  he  will  not 
hear."  (Isa.  lix.  i,  2.)  And  the  prophet  proceeds  to  point  out 
a  variety  of  grievous  offences  against  the  divine  law.  Some  of 
these  are  chargeable  upon  our  people  and  nation. 

I  St.  Our  tendency  to  idolize  our  public  men,  or  rather  the  offices 
which  they  hold,  and  to  glory  in  their  wisdom  and  prowess,  and 
thus  to  forget  Him  who  assures  us,  "  The  wicked  shall  be  turned 
into  hell,  and  all  the  nations  that  forget  God."  (Ps.  ix.)  We  have 
not  kept  it  before  our  mind,  that  our  fathers  "  got  not  the  land  in 


136  National  Joy  and  Sorrow  commingled. 

possession  by  their  own  sword,  neither  did  their  own  arm  save 
them;  but  thy  right  hand,  and  thine  arm,  and  the  Hght  of  thy 
countenance,  because  thou  hadst  a  favor  unto  them.  Thou  art 
my  king,  O  God!"  (Ps.  xliv.  3,  4.)  Beyond  doubt,  we  have 
sinned  in  this  our  confident  boasting. 

2d.  We  have  insulted  the  Son  of  God,  "  by  whom  kings  reign 
and  princes  decree  justice;  by  whom  princes  rule,  and  nobles, 
even  all  the  judges  of  the  earth."  (Prov.  viii.  15,  16.)  We  have 
said,  "Let  us  break  their  bands  asunder,  and  cast  their  cord  from 
us."  (Ps.  ii.  3.)  Virtually  denying,  that  "unto  us  a  child  is 
born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given:  and  the  government  shall  be  upon 
his  shoulder;  and  his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor, 
the  mighty  God,  the  everlasting  Father,  the  Prince  of  peace. 
Of  the  increase  of  his  government  and  peace  there  shall  be  no 
end  upon  the  throne  of  David."  (Isa.  ix.  6,  7.)  This  divine 
Mediator  and  King  we  have  offended  in  various  ways. 

I  St.  In  the  grand  bond  of  our  National  Union.  The  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States  contains  no  distin6t  acknowledo:ment  of 
the  being  of  a  God.  It  is  simpl}^  atheistical  in  the  generic  sense 
of  the  word.  There  is  no  God  at  all  in  it.  And  amons:  the  most 
aggravating  points  of  this  atheism  is  the  fa6l,  that  many  of  the 
sovereign  people,  and  not  a  few  men  professing  piety,  glory  in 
this  fa6l,  and  defend  it.  Under  the  delusion  of  the  Devil's  political 
maxim,  "  Religion  has  nothing  to  do  with  politics,"  they  profess  to 
justify  this  atheism.  Nor  is  this  a  simple  ignoring  of  God.  On 
this  ground,  many  attempt  to  apologize  for  the  omission.  It  is, 
say  they,  an  inadvertence.*  It  does  not  amount  to  a  denial  or 
rcje6tion  of  God.     After  all,  the  Convention  meant  no  offence. 


*  This  was  the  case  with  the  date,  "in  the  year  of  our  Lord;  "  a  mere  inadvertence, 
although  the  most  like  a  recognition  of  any  thing  in  it. 


Rev.  George  ytinkin^  D.D.  137 

To  this  we  reply,  What  they  did  must  interpret  their  intention. 
They  eje6ted  God.  He  had  been  recognized  four  several  times  in 
the  Declaration:  viz.,  in  the  first  paragraph;  in  the  second  para- 
graph; and  twice  in  the  last,  the  Declaration  proper,  — "  appealing 
to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world,"  "  with  a  firm  reliance  on 
the  protection  of  divine  Providence."  So  the  Xlllth  Article  of 
Confederation  expressly  recognizes  "  the  great  Governor  of  the 
world,"  and  refers  to  his  influence  upon  the  hearts  of  the  legisla- 
tors, in  their  inclination  to  adopt  the  Articles.  Moreover,  the 
fathers  in  the  Continental  Congress  provided  for,  and  attended  to, 
prayers  at  their  daily  deliberations.  Not  so  the  men  who  framed 
the  Constitution :  they  had  no  prayers  mixed  up  with  their  assem- 
bly. The  contrary  has  been  asserted,  but  erroneously.  Franklin 
made  a  motion  —  rather  a  suggestion — to  invite  the  clergy,  and 
open  the  sessions  with  prayer,  as  the  fathers  had  done.  General 
Hamilton  could  not  see  its  use;  made  some  difficulty:  an 
adjournment  soon  took  place,  and  Madison  tells  us  the  matter  was 
never  again  called  up.  Yes,  God  was  not  ignored  all  through  the 
doings  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  in  the  Declaration  and 
Articles.  But  "Jeshurun  waxed  fat  and  kicked;"  the  nation  for- 
got God,  and  ejected  him.  This  was  undoubtedly  —  though  we 
cannot  here  stop  to  prove  it  —  the  effe6t  of  French  infidelity, 
which  was  eating  into  the  vitals  of  the  body  politic. 

2d.  Another  and  quite  a  recent  insult  has  been  offered  to  the 
Son  of  God,  —  the  appointment  to  a  chaplaincy  in  Congress  of  a 
person  of  a  se6t  who,  but  week  before  last,  in  New  York, 
declared  their  denial  of  Christ  as  Mediator,  and  in  offensive  terms 
deny  that  "this  is  the  true  God  and  eternal  life."  Thus  the 
nation,  by  its  representatives,  voted  to  pull  down  Messiah's 
throne,  and  reje6l  him  as  Governor  among  the  nations.  This 
ofience  is  aggravated  by  the  consideration  that  this  more  than 
semi-infidel  se6t  is  one  of  the  smallest  in  the  nation. 

18 


138  National  Joy  and  Sorrow  commingled. 

3d.  Our  theatrical  exhibitions  are  a  stench  in  the  nostrils  of 
high  Heaven.  These  dens  of  pollution,  these  synagogues  of  Satan, 
colle6l  in  and  around  them  the  concentrated  abomination  of  all 
immorality  and  crime.  Into  these  vestibules  of  the  abyss,  thou- 
sands and  tens  of  thousands  of  our  youth  of  both  sexes  are 
enticed  and  inveigled  by  all  the  arts  and  wiles  of  the  Adversary  of 
souls,  aided  by  all  the  embellishments  of  art  and  even  of  science. 
Places  of  amusement  are  planned  and  operated  to  occupy  a  mid- 
dle region  between  the  house  of  God,  and  the  hold  of  demons,  — 
between  the  church  and  the  theatre.  The  same  building  accom- 
modates a  religious  meeting  or  a  musical  exhibition  to-night,  and 
the  genuine  orgies  of  the  Evil  One  to-morrow  night.  Thus,  the 
revulsion  of  the  Christian  heart,  with  which  less  than  half  a  cen- 
tury ago  all  pious  people  turned  away,  is  abated;  and  the  public 
conscience,  even  of  church-goers,  is  often  kept  in  an  equipoise 
between  the  church  itself  and  the  opera;  between  the  choir  with 
David's  harp,  and  the  full  swell  of  the  orchestra;  between  Jesus 
Christ  and  Shakspeare.  Are  there  no  professors  of  religion  in 
this  City  of  Love  who  prefer  Romeo  and  Juliet  to  John's  Gospel? 
or  Booth  and  Forrest  to  Paul  and  Peter? 

Now,  a  great  aggravation  of  these  sins  is  found  in  the  general 
fa6l,  that  the  theatres  are  liberally  supported,  and  all  places  of 
amusement  are  crowded  with  fascinated  listeners;  and  that,  too, 
while  half  the  people  of  the  land  are  draped  in  the  habiliments 
oi  mourning.  How  unseemly  all  this!  If  Nero  must  hddle 
while  Rome  was  burning,  must  we  Christians  dance  while  the 
nation  bleeds? 

4th.  Profanity,  drunkenness,  gambling,  sabbath-breaking,  and 
debauchery  prevail  over  all  the  land;  but,  above  all,  in  the  army 
and  navy.  Many  hundreds,  indeed,  have  been  dismissed  the  ser- 
vice for  these  crimes  alone;  but  the  expurgation  has  been  only 
partial,  and  this  by  reason  of  the  humiliating  fa6t  that  some  very 


Rev.  George  Junkin,  D.D.  139 

distinguished  officers  indulge  in  some  of  these  criminal  practices, 
and  thus  seem  to  be  above  law.  Indeed,  the  sentiment,  that 
swearing  and  intemperance  are  military  necessities,  is  not  unfre- 
quently  hinted  at,  if  not  distin6lly  avowed.  There  is  too  much 
reason  to  believe  that  alcohol  has  destroyed  more  lives  in  this 
war  than  gunpowder. 

5th.  A  fifth  class  of  grievous  sins  against  high  Heaven  is  found 
conne6led  with  the  avaricious  spirit,  engendering  frauds  against 
the  Government.  Sharpers,  thieves,  and  plunderers  of  public 
property  have  taken  advantage  of  irregularities  in  trade,  and  com- 
mitted depredations  that  would  make  a  Hottentot  blush. 

All  kinds  of  rascality,  if  perpetrated  against  the  public  trea- 
sury, have  been  almost  vindicated  as  smart  and  praiseworthy. 
Such  evils  are  nevertheless  hateful:  "For  among  my  people  are 
found  wicked  men:  they  lay  wait,  as  he  that  setteth  snares;  they 
set  a  trap;  they  catch  men.  As  a  cage  is  full  of  birds,  so  are 
their  houses  full  of  deceit;  therefore,  they  are  become  great,  and 
waxen  rich.  Shall  I  not  visit  for  these  things?  saith  the  Lord; 
shall  not  my  soul  be  avenged  on  such  a  nation  as  this  }  "  (Jer.  v. 
26-29.) 

Such  are  the  moral  but  adequate  procuring  causes  of  our 
nation's  calamities;  such  delinquencies  must  bring  down  the 
wrath  of  God.  Accordingly,  what  amazing  commingling  of 
emotions  result:  — 

I  St.  High  joy. 

2d.  Deep  sorrow. 

3d.  Burning  indignation. 

4th.  Subdued  humility. 

Analaofous  cases  are  suggested.     Let  us  note  a  few:  — 


*t)t3 


I  St.  Henry  of  Navarre,  the  fourth  Henry,  and  the  noblest  king 


140  National  Joy  and  Sorrow  commingled. 

that  ever  sat  upon  the  French  throne.  From  principle,  he  was  a 
Huguenot;  but  from  policy,  after  the  St.  Bartholomew's  massacre, 
he  threw  himself  into  the  arms  of  the  Popish  party,  secretly 
however  assuring  the  Huguenots  that  he  was  their  friend,  and 
would  prote6t  them.  He  had  been  solemnly  warned  by  the 
Huguenot  captain,  that,  if  with  his  mouth  he  renounced  the  Pro- 
testant religion,  God  would  smite  him  on  the  mouth,  and  destroy 
his  life.  Accordingly,  whilst  all  things  seemed  settling  down 
into  a  prosperous  condition,  he  was  smittten  in  the  mouth,  and 
killed,  by  a  dagger  in  the  hand  of  a  madman  named  Ravaillac, 
whilst  riding  in  the  ro3^al  coach  in  the  streets  of  Paris.  Thus  he 
was  snatched  away  from  the  highest  glories  of  what  appeared  to 
promise  a  long  and  illustrious  reign, —  a  sovereign  of  the  rarest 
qualities,  and  of  most  hopeful  promise. 

2d.  General  James  Wolfe,  in  like  manner,  closed  a  short  and 
brilliant  career  on  that  illustrious  day,  when,  on  the  Plains  of 
Abraham,  he  sold  his  life  for  deathless  renown.  In  the  ebbing 
of  life,  his  dying  ear  caught 'the  exclamation,  "They  fly,  they  fly!  " 
He  asked,  "Who  fly?"  — "The  French,  the  French!  "  —  "Then 
I  die  happy!"  and  he  breathed  out  his  mighty  soul  in  the  very 
arms  of  a  vi6tory  which  swept  away  French  power  from  a  conti- 
nent, and  secured  North  America  for  ever  to  free  government 
and  the  Protestant  religion.  Oh,  how  difficult  to  bring  our  feel- 
ings into  quiet  subje6tion  to  the  ways  of  Providence  in  such 
mysterious  dispensations!  Why  not  spare  Wolfe  and  Lincoln 
to  enjoy  their  triumph?  But  peace!  be  still,  and  know  that  I 
am  God. 

3d.  In  the  days  of  Charles  Stuart,  the  second  profligate  prince 
of  that  name  who  disgraced  the  British  throne,  the  Duke  of 
Ormond  was  the  King's  viceroy  for  Ireland,  where  he  had  man- 
aged the  trust  with  great  wisdom  and  success.  Nevertheless,  an 
active  and  bold  party,  led  by  the  Earl  of  Shaftsbury,  assailed  the 


Rev.  George  yunkin^  D.D.  141 

venerable  duke  in  Parliament,  intending,  if  possible,  to  bring  his 
life  in  peril.  The  Earl  of  Ossory,  son  of  the  duke,  was  a  member 
of  the  Commons'  House,  and  threw  his  young  life  into  his  father's 
defence,  and  with  such  vigor  and  skill  as  to  confuse  and  utterly 
discomfit  the  party,  and  triumphantly  vindicate  his  father's  admin- 
istration. Not  long  after  this  the  earl  died,  and  left  the  noble  and 
venerable  duke  in  the  deepest  sorrow  and  anguish.  Certain 
friends  approached  the  bereaved  parent  with  words  of  consola- 
tion. Whereupon,  rising  under  his  load  of  sorrows,  and  his 
heart  swelling  with  a  noble  pride  easily  to  be  excused,  the  venera- 
ble father  exclaimed,  "I  would  not  give  my  dead  son  for  any 
living  son  in  Christendom!  "  So  a  whole  nation  to-day  exclaims, 
"  We  would  not  give  our  dead  President  for  any  living  sovereign 
in  Christendom  or  the  world!"  Why.  then,  ah!  why  did  God 
permit  the  assassin's  hand  to  touch  a  life  so  precious?  This  I 
have  already,  in  part  at  least,  answered.  Why  did  God  permit 
wicked  men  to  stone  Stephen  ?  to  crucify  Peter  ?  to  behead 
Paul?  to  burn  John  Huss  and  John  Rogers  and  Patrick  Ham- 
ilton? 

These,  and  millions  more,  heroic  martyrs  to  the  cause  of 
truth  and  freedom,  hath  God  removed  just  when  their  work  was 
finished.  Abraham  Lincoln,  like  young  Hamilton,  and  Rogers 
and  Huss  and  Peter  and  Paul,  the  aged,  had  finished  his  work. 
He  had,  in  the  simplicity  of  his  heart,  and  the  honesty  of  his  con- 
science, unconsciously  written  his  rustic  name  higher  than  the 
loftiest  heretofore  known  to  history  and  to  fame.  He  had  filled 
up  his  share  —  and  what  a  share!  —  in  his  country's  glory.  He 
had  knocked  the  manacles  oflf  four  millions  of  degraded  bonds- 
men. Pie  had  called  into  the  field  the  most  powerful  armies  on 
which  the  sun  ever  shone;  he  had  placed  at  their  heads  generkls, 
called  from  obscurity,  who  may  well  look  down  with  scorn  on 
the  Petit  Corporal,  the  glory  and  boast  heretofore  of  all  the  sons 


142  National  yoy  and  Sorroiv  commingled. 

of  Mars.  He  had  created  a  navy  of  prowess  superior  to  any  that 
ever  floated  in  water,  fresh  and  salt.  He  had  crushed  a  rebelHon 
organized  against  the  freedom  of  the  world;  and  with  such  talent 
and  power  as  was  never  before  known  in  human  history.  He 
had  added  this  last  and  indispensable  demonstration  of  the  grand 
truth,  that  man  is  capable  of  self-government.  Glory  enough, 
this,  for  one  mortal!  And  God  called  him  away  to  higher  and 
holier  service,  we  most  fondly  and  reasonably  hope. 

We  may,  indeed  we  ought,  and  we  do,  regret  the  place  from 
which  he  was  called.  We  regret  that  so  great  a  man  and  so 
good  should  have  given  the  force  of  his  example  to  encourage 
dens  of  pollution.  But  even  here,  it  is  obvious  his  failings  on 
the  side  of  virtue,  his  kindly  temperament,  and  unwillingness 
to  occasion  disappointment  to  an  audience,  rather  than  deliber- 
ate choice,  occasioned  his  presence.  We  may  even  go  further 
consistently  with  our  high  admiration,  and  accommodate  David's 
lament  over  Abner:  "  Died  Abner  as  a  fool  dieth?  Thy  hands 
were  not  bound,  nor  thy  feet  put  in  fetters :  as  a  man  falleth  before 
wicked  men,  so  fellest  thou.  And  the  king  lifted  up  his  voice, 
and  wept  at  the  grave  of  Abner;  and  all  the  people  wept." 
(2  Sam.  iii.  32.)  Whatever  reasons  may  lie  aback  of  this 
mournful  mystery,  it  stands  out  a  fearful  fa6l  in  the  movements 
of  that  divine  Providence  w^ho  doeth  all  things  well,  and  that 
assured  us  that  he  will  make  all  thing-s  work  toijether  for  good  to 
those  who  put  their  trust  in  him. 

Perhaps  Mr.  Lincoln  would  have  been  excessive  in  his  lenity. 
His  large-hearted  benevolence  had  already  led  to  many  afts  of 
clemency  in  the  exercise  of  the  pardoning  power,  which  were,  in 
the  opinion  of  many  of  his  best  and  most  influential  friends,  of 
doubtful  expediency.  The  opinion  very  extensively  prevails,  that, 
impelled  by  his  noble  sympathies  for  poor  suffering  humanity,  he 
had    enfeebled    the    nerve    of  discipline    even    in   the   army,   by 


Rev.  George  yunkin^  D.D.  143 

extending  pardon  or  reprieve  to  deserters  and  bounty-jumpers. 
Perhaps  this  amiable  weakness  in  a  strong  mind  might  have  led 
to  more  serious  evils  when  criminals  of  the  highest  charadler 
should  stand  condemned  at  the  bar  of  justice.  It  required  more 
nerve,  and  of  a  higher  order,  to  sign  the  death-warrant  of  Dr. 
Dodd  than  to  storm  Fort  Fisher.  Pardon  to  a  man  justly  con- 
demned is  a  judgment  against  Justice  herself,  and  a  bribe  to 
future  criminality.  The  right  and  duty  to  pardon  a  murderer  has 
never  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  civil  magistrate  by  divine 
statute.  "  Ye  shall  take  no  satisfaction  for  the  life  of  a  murderer, 
which  is  guilty  of  death;  but  he  shall  be  surely  put  to  death." 
(Num.  XXXV.  31.)  Providentially,  indeed,  and  in  fa6t,  this 
power  is  in  the  magistrate's  hands,  but  not  by  express  divine  leg- 
islation. But  the  theory  has  grown  out  of  the  imperfe6lion  of  all 
human  tribunals.  It  being  possible  that  an  innocent  man  might 
be  condemned,  prudence  has  suggested  the  propriety  of  a  last 
resort,  to  prevent  the  execution  of  an  unjust  sentence.  Wherever, 
therefore,  a  reasonable  doubt  arises  as  to  the  justice  of  the  sen- 
tence that  decrees  a  man  to  death,  the  pardoning  power  should 
interfere;  otherwise,  never.  I  say,  a  reasonable  doubt,  not  a 
doubt  created  by  our  sympathetic  emotions.  "Justice  and  judg- 
ment are  the  habitation  of  Jehovah's  throne:  mercy  and  truth 
go  before  his  face."  (Ps.  Ixxxix.  14.)  Governments  are  estab- 
lished for  the  administration  of  justice,  not  for  the  dispensing  of 
mercy;  and  for  this  God  has  put  the  sword  into  the  magistrate's 
hand,  and  he  may  not  bear  it  in  vain.  Now,  it  is  our  duty  always 
to  scan  the  movements  of  Providence,  that  we  may,  if  possible, 
discover  what  he  would  have  us  to  do.  Watchman!  what  of  the 
night?  But  we  shall  press  the  inquiry  no  further.  This  is  very 
probably  the  main  reason  of  the  mournful  removal  of  our  admired 
and  beloved  Chief  Magistrate,  —  that  the  executive  power  may  fall 
into  the  hands  of  a  man  made  of  sterner  stuff,  and  whose  experi- 


144  Natio7ial  Joy  and  Soi^roiv  commingled. 

ences  better  fit  him  for  hearkening  to  the  high  and  fearful  behests 
of  immutable  and  incorruptible  Justice. 

We  have  felt  the  high  joys  of  gratitude  to  Gad  for  the  success 
he  has  bestowed  on  our  arms. 

We  have  plunged  from  these  heights  into  an  almost  abyss  of 
sorrow.  Our  head  dissolves  in  tears,  and  our  eyes  have  become 
fountains  of  anguish. 

Our  indignation  at  the  horrible  rebellion,  and  its  more  horri- 
ble resort  to  the  pistol,  the  dagger,  the  torch,  and  the  poison  of 
the  assassin,  flames  up  into  an  unquenchable  fire.  An"d  the 
very  cause  of  our  burning  indignation  suggests  and  prompts  and 
urges  on  to  the  sure  and  efficient  remedy,  the  simple  administra- 
tion of  justice. 

All  these  powerful  emotions  subside,  at  least,  into  a  subdued 
humility.  It  is  the  Lord:  let  him  do  as  seemeth  to  him  good. 
But  acquiescence  in  the  divine  Will  by  no  means  implies  appro- 
bation of  the  agency  by  which  it  is  accomplished.  Joseph's 
brethren  meant  their  cruelty  for  evil  to  him;  but  God  meant  all 
for  good,  that  he  might  save  Egypt  itself,  and  Israel  too,  from 
most  fearful  calamity.  So  we  humbly  submit,  in  the  confident 
expe6tation  that  the  nation's  felicity  and  glor}^  will  spring  up,  a 
luminous  and  grand  Shechinah,  over  the  grave  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. And,  with  this  buoyant  hope  in  our  hearts,  let  us  re- 
mark, — 

I  St.  We  are  not  fighting  for  our  own  hearthstones,  for  our  own 
wives  and  our  children.  If  this  were  all,  however  praiseworthy 
some  may  feel  it  to  be,  it  is  narrow,  selfish,  mean,  and  bespeaks 
a  soul  devoid  of  the  higher  and  nobler  sentiments  of  a  broad 
philanthropy. 

2d.  Nor  are  we  fighting  for  the  broad  acres  of  old  Pennsylva- 
nia, baptized  with  the  blood  of  a  heroic  ancestry,  shed  in  support 


'fit 


Rev.  George  Junkin^  D.D.  145 

of  the  Immortal  Declaration  issued  from  yonder  Hall,  in  obedi- 
ence to  a  nation's  will,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1776.  Freedom  here, 
indeed,  and  repu"blican  government,  we  claim  and  herald  for  all 
the  people  of  this  broad  land.  But  even  this  were  a  conception 
too  diminutive  for  the  mustering  of  such  forces,  the  authorizing 
of  such  vast  treasuries.  Oh,  no!  The  Lord  deliver  us  from 
these  thoughts,  suited  only  to  the  man  of  the  little  soul!  for  — 

3d.  We  are  fighting  for  freedom  and  republican  government 
over  all  this  nation,  over  all  this  northern  continent  and  the 
world.  Here  is  progressing  the  gigantic  experiment  upon  human 
nature,  for  the  solution  of  the  stupendous  problem  of  man's  capa- 
bility of  self-government.  If  our  experiment  fails;  if  this  nation 
cannot  govern  itself;  if  it  is  to  be  divided,  dissolved,  and  plunged 
into  the  gulf,  the  Charybdis  of  interminabk  anarchy,  or  shivered  to 
atoms  against  the  Scylla  of  military  despotism,  —  then  is  the  hope 
of  freedom  and  republicanism  for  the  world  for  ever  ingulfed. 
The  affirmative  of  this  problem,  God  is  writing  out,  may  we  not 
say,  has  written  out,  in  the  blood  of  three  or  four  hundred  thou- 
sand men.  Can  any  man  believe  that  these  vast  armies,  and  these 
hundred  battles,  in  comparison  with  which  Agincourt  and  Blen- 
heim and  Austerlitz  and  Wagram  and  Waterloo  and  Sebasto- 
pol  and  Solferino  are  but  the  skirmishings  of  pickets  on  the 
outposts,  —  can  it  be  believed  that  all  this  is  merely  to  determine 
whether  or  not  a  few  thousand  slave-owners  shall  drive  their 
human  stock,  and  locate  them,  upon  new  lands  on  our  Western 
borders?  Is  it  for  such  a  purpose  as  this,  God  has  marshalled 
these  terrible  hosts  of  earnest  and  courageous  men,  to  fling  them 
upon  each  other  in  such  awful  and  undistinguishable  courage? 
Surely  not.  Surely  he  is  completing  the  grand  demonstration  in 
the  eyes  of  all  the  nations,  that  they  may  read  and  learn  from  the 
blood  and  fire  of  a  hundred  battle-fields,  that  freemen  can  put 
down  rebellion  and  govern  themselves. 

19 


1 46  National  yoy  and  'Sorrow  commmgled. 

Yes,  my  friends,  amid  this  awful  scene  the  true  Christian  phi- 
losopher recognizes  the  Lord  of  Hosts  as  levying  and  drilling  and 
training  the  armies;  as  building  the  navies,  as  educating  the  gen- 
erals and  the  admirals,  the  soldiers  and  the  seamen,  for  the  last 
and  greatest  battles  of  freedom.  Despotism,  from  her  iron  throne, 
the  w^orld  over,  looks  on  in  amazement,  and  trembles  in  the 
paralysis  of  approaching  death,  at  the  might  that  slumbers  in  a 
peasant's  arm.  Probably,  —  we  say  it  with  an  eye  upon  the  pro- 
phecies of  Holy  Scripture,  —  probably  within  five  years  from  this 
time  will  be  fought,  on  the  field  of  Megiddo,  the  most  fearful, 
terrific,  and  decisive  of  all  the  bloody  battles  for  freedom  and 
for  God.  And  I  cannot  believe  that  the  Lord  of  Hosts  will  order 
the  general  charge  on  that  great  and  terrible  day,  until  his  own 
American  contingent  shall  have  formed  its  line  on  the  left  bank 
of  that  ancient  river,  —  the  river  of  Kishon.  I  cannot  exclude 
from  my  mind  the  pleasing,  dreadful  thought,  that  the  Stars  and 
the  Stripes  will  float  in  grandeur  and  in  glory  amid  the  dust 
and  smoke  of  that  terrific  contest.  The  fond  fancy  —  it  may  be 
no  more  —  still  clings  to  my  soul,  that  American  blood  will  share 
largely  in  the  glorious  work  of  consecrating  to  religion,  to  free- 
dom, and  to  God,  the  great  plain  of  Jezreel. 

But  then,  obviously,  for  this  we  must  bring  God  upon  the 
battle-field.  We  must  honor  him,  or  he  will  not  honor  us.  Thus 
did  Deborah  and  Barak  on  this  same  field,  and  he  gave  them  the 
victory,  whilst  they  ascribe  their  triumph  to  him. 

Not  inconsistently  with  what  I  have  said  of  our  national  sins 
and  army  corruptions,  I  now  remark,  that  there  never  was  a  time 
when  more  prayer  was  offered  up,  more  religious  effort  put  forth, 
more  of  a  liberal,  giving,  charitable  spirit  displayed  in  the 
churches  of  our  land,  than  during  this  war.  Whilst,  it  is  true,  we 
have  some  of  the  very  worst  men  of  the  land  in  our  army  and 
navy,   it  is  equally  true,  we  have  some  of  the  best  also.     Our 


Rev.  George  yunki7i^  D.D.  147 

praying  generals  and  admirals,  soldiers  and  seamen,  have  wrestled 
mightily  with  God,  and  have  prevailed.  Books,  tra6ls,  religious 
newspapers  have  been  read  more  thitti  ever  was  done  in  any 
army  under  the  sun.  And  these  have  been  blessed,  as  means  for 
the  conversion  of  thousands.  Assuredly  hundreds  of  these  army 
conversions  will  enter  the  service  of  the  Captain  of  our  salvation, 
in  aggressive  wars  against  the  powers  of  darkness.  Moreover,  it 
is  an  encouraging  fa(5l,  that  the  popular  voice  of  thanksgiving 
ascended  to  God  from  parts  and  places  new  and  strange.  Who 
ever  before  heard  the  Christian  doxology,  — 

"  Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow,"  — 

thundering  out  from  ten  thousand  voices  in  Wall  Street,  in  Chest- 
nut Street,  and  other  places  ?  > 

Yes,  this  is  the  right  spirit.  Let  us  bring  God  into  every 
thing,  —  the  army,  the  navy,  the  sea,  and  the  land;  the  White 
House,  the  halls  of  Congress,  the  Courts  of  Justice,  and  the  elec- 
tion polls.  God  has  placed  the  sovereignty  in  the  people,  and 
therefore  the  sovereign  cannot  ever  be  assassinated. 

Let  every  freeman  walk  with  God.  Let  him  learn  submission 
to  Jesus,  by  whom  kings  reign  and  princes  decree  justice.  With 
the  Son  of  God  as  its  king,  the  nation  must  ever  be  safe,  must 
ever  triumph.     Amen. 

Philadelphia  Inquirer^  yune  2,  1865. 


MEMORIAL     SERMON: 


DELIVERED    IN    THE    FIRST    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH,    COLUMBUS,    OHIO, 

THURSDAY,   JUNE    I,    1 865  ; 

BY    REV.    W.    R.    MARSHALL, 

PASTOR   OF   THE    CHURCH. 


Rom.  ix.  17:  "  Even  for  this  same  purpose  have  I  raised  thee  up,  that  I  might  show  my 
power  in  thee,  and  that  mj  name  might  be  declared  throughout  all  the  earth !  " 

THE  great  Dr.  John  M.  Mason  began  an  oration  on  the  death 
of  George  Washington,  in  language  as  follows,  — "  The 
offices  of  this  day  belong  less  to  eloquence  than  to  grief.  An 
assembled  nation,  lamenting  a  father  in  their  departed  chief;  ab- 
sorbing every  inferior  consideration  in  the  sentiments  of  their 
common  loss;  mingling  their  recolle6lions  and  their  anticipations, 
their  w^ishes,  their  regrets,  their  sympathies  and  their  tears,  —  is  a 
spectacle  not  more  tender  than  aw^ful,  and  excites  emotions  too 
mighty  for  utterance.  I  should  have  no  right  to  complain,  Amer- 
icans, if,  instead  of  indulging  me  with  your  attention,  you  should 
command  me  to  retire,  and  leave  you  to  weep  in  the  silence  of 
woe.  I  should  deserve  the  reprimand  were  I  to  appear  before  you 
with  the  pretentions  of  eulogy.  No!  Eulogy  has  mistaken  her 
province  and  her  powers,  when  she  assumes  for  her  theme  the 
glory  of  Washington.  His  deeds  and  his  virtues  are  his  high 
eulogium,  —  his  deeds  most  familiar  to  your  memories,  his  vir- 


Rev.  W.  R.  Marshall.  149 

tues  most  dear  to  your  affections.  To  me,  therefore,  nothing  is 
permitted  but  to  borrow  from  yourselves.  And,  though  a  pencil 
more  daring  than  mine  would  languish  in  attempting  to  retrace 
the  living  lines  which  the  finger  of  Truth  has  drawn  upon  your 
hearts,  you  will  bear  with  me  while,  on  a  subject  which  dignifies 
every  thing  related  to  it,  ^  I  tell  you  that  which  yourselves  do 
know.' " 

Could  I  in  more  befitting  spirit,  or  with  more  appropriate  lan- 
guage, appear  before  you  to-day,  to  speak  of  the  man  whom  you 
bewail,  with  that  same  unison  of  unutterable  feeling  with  which 
your  fathers,  sixty-five  years  ago,  mourned  for  Washington, — 
the  man  who  is  enshrined  to-day  in  the  weeping  heart  of  this 
great  Republic,  side  by  side  with  its  first,  its  noblest,  its  matchless 
patriot  ?  .. 

The  life  of  Abraham  Lincoln  was  too  closely  related  to  the 
interests  of  us  all,  and  bore  too  effectively  upon  the  experience 
and  prospects  of  the  generation,  to  be  barren  of  theme  for  pulpit 
discourse,  or  of  important  lessons  for  the  study  of  the  Christian 
and  the  patriot. 

But  I  should  utterly  fail  in  the  duty  of  this  hour,  imposed  both 
by  the  peculiar  nature  of  my  office,  and  a  consideration  of  the 
true  interests  of  the  public,  if  I  were  to  represent  that  character 
only  in  its  proximate  reference  to  human  society,  and  discon- 
nected from  its  higher  and  farther-reaching  relations  to  that  divine 
government  which  comprehends  all  the  human,  and  whose  prog- 
ress develops  the  history,  and  solves  the  destiny,  of  all  men  and 
nations.  "The  history  of  the  world,"  remarks  the  historian  of 
the  Reformation,  "  should  be  set  as  the  annals  of  the  government 
of  the  Sovereign  of  the  universe.  God  is  ever  present  on  that 
vast  theatre,  where  successive  generations  of  men  and  nations 
struggle.  Shall  we  not  recognize  his  hand  in  those  grand  mani- 
festations, those  great  men,  those  mighty  nations,  which  arise  and 


150  Memorial  Sermon . 


start,  as  it  were,  from  the  dust  of  the  earth,  and  communicate  a 
new  form  and  destiny  to  the  human  race  ?  Shall  we  not  acknowl- 
edge him  in  those  great  heroes  who  spring  from  society  at  ap- 
pointed epochs,  —  who  display  a  strength  and  an  a6livity  beyond 
the  ordinary  limits  of  humanity,  and  around  whom,  as  around  a 
superior  and  mysterious  power,  nations  and  individuals  gladly 
gather?"  And  our  own  Bancroft  says,  "Providence  is  the  light 
of  history,  and  the  soul  of  the  world." 

Then,  through  all  that  is  unique,  and  all  that  is  great,  in  his 
life;  through  all  that  is  remarkable  in  his  progress,  and  all  that 
is  important  in  the  a6lion  of  Mr.  Lincoln;  and  through  all  the 
scenes,  stormy,  confused,  and  chaotic,  in  which  he  mingled,  —  we 
look  up  to  that  omnipotent  God,  who  sits  enthroned  above,  and 
ruleth  over  all,  and  regard  the  man  as  a  servant  of  the  divine,  the 
earthly  ruler  as  a  delegated  agent  of  the  supreme  and  universal 
government  which  has  its  throne  in  heaven.  And  as  such  I  will 
speak  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  relation  to  the  present  and  the  future. 

As  among  the  thousand  stately  spires  that  surmount  a  great 
and  proud  city,  one  towers  highest  in  air;  or,  among  alpine  moun- 
tains, one  lifts  its  bold  summit  nearest  the  skies,  and  reflects  upon 
all  below  the  earlier  and  purer  rays  of  light:  so  among  the  thou- 
sands, who,  by  positions  of  influence  and  deeds  of  importance, 
have  lately  risen  above  the  common  level,  and  stand  in  the  light 
of  fame  as  towers  of  human  greatness,  Abraham  Lincoln  mounts 
to  the  loftiest  altitude,  and  surrounds  himself  with  the  brightest 
and  most  imperishable  halo  of  earthly  glory. 

Amid  the  noise  and  confusion  of  these  unparalleled  times;  in 
the  hurried  succession  of  transpiring  events,  that,  like  a  train  of 
supernal  prodigies,  has  passed  before  us;  amid  scenes,  in  their 
thrilling,  terrible  aspe6ls  similar  to,  if  not  identical  with,  apoca- 
lyptic visions,  our  patriot  President  was  the  most  prominent 
figure  and  most  efficient  agent.     If,  over  all  this  drama  of  human 


Rev.  W.  R.  Marshall. 


151 


affairs,  there  is  a  universal  Providence  and  a  divine  Sovereio-n, 
whose  wisdom,  power,  and  will  control  the  confusion,  and  order 
the  progress,  —  selecting  the  agents,  and  limiting  the  competition 
of  ambition  and  power;  balancing  the  collisions  and  combina- 
tions of  interests  and  principles,  so  as  to  work  out  results  of  per- 
manent good  and  substantial  advancement  to  the  race  of  man,  — 
as  at  creation  he  developed  a  world  of  beauty,  order,  and  life,  out 
of  the  formless  void  of  dark  chaos,  —  then  Abraham  Lincoln  was, 
by  that  Supreme  Ruler,  appointed  to  his  position  and  his  work, 
created  for  and  adapted  to  the  exigencies  of  the  times.  What 
the  man  was  as  an  apparent  result  of  visible  influences,  God  made 
him,  by  that  infallible  decree  that  not  only  ordains  the  end,  but 
sele6ls  and  energizes  all  the  second  causes  of  its  accomplishment. 

And  as  much  as  the  times  were  eventful,  and  their  occur- 
rences important,  so  in  proportion  is  the  importance  of  Abraham 
Lincoln's  relation  to  the  present  experience  and  future  prospers 
of  this  nation  and  the  world. 

The  crisis  through  which  our  country  has  just  passed,  though 
not  the  first,  was  incomparably  the  most  critical  and  threatening 
in  our  experience,  and  has,  perhaps,  no  precedent  or  parallel  in 
the  history  of  any  surviving  government. 

The  causes  which  produced  it  were  at  least  connate,  if  they 
had  not  an  existence  anterior  to  the  origin  of  our  nationality. 
Like  a  slow  poison  they  gradually  spread  through  the  body  poli- 
tic, and  long  preyed  upon  its  organs  of  health  with  only  an  occa- 
sional symptom  of  the  coming  terrible  paroxysms. 

In  the  natural  world,  the  elements  of  storm  often  colle6l 
quietly,  slowly,  and  invisibly.  The  light,  unseen  vapors  of  water 
are  lifted  silently  from  the  face  of  the  ocean,  and  wafted  far  away 
into  the  upper  atmosphere  by  breezes  so  gentle  that  they  stir  not 
an  aspen  near  the  earth's  surface;  and  for  days  and  weeks,  while 
the  sun,  unobscured  by  a  single  cloud,  shines  gloriously  on  a 


1^2  Memorial  Sermon. 


serene  continent  and  a  calm  sea,  those  watery  vapors  assemble  in 
secret  rendezvous,  still  gathering  proportion  and  force,  until  a 
certain  condition  is  attained;  and  then  suddenly  the. storm-clouds 
are  marshalled  in  the  heavens,  and  irresistibly  the  flooding  tor- 
rents, the  sweeping  winds,  and  the  riving  lightnings  rush  down 
to  the  assault  of  sea  and  land.  Thus  also,  through  many  quiet 
years,  the  elements  of  strife,  that  lately  issued  in  a  storm  of  deso- 
lating war,  were  gathering  far  up  in  our  national  atmosphere. 
For  many  years  together  we  rejoiced  securely  in  the  halcyon  sun- 
light of  unbroken  prosperity  and  unhalting  progress. 

Occasionally  some  diflficulty  would  arise  producing  temporary 
excitement;  and,  while  a  few  thought  they  heard  afar  off  the  mut- 
tering thunders  of  an  approaching  storm,  there  was  generally  no 
apprehension  of  danger.  Grandfathers  still  related  the  thrilling 
traditions  of  revolutionary  times,  and  youthful  hearts  almost  en- 
vied an  experience  which  they  supposed  was  passed  for  ever. 

But  a  few  years  ago,  our  national  prospects  began  to  change 
rapidly,  and,  in  the  judgment  of  all,  to  assume  a  threatening  as- 
pe6t.  Questions,  upon  which  sentiment  and  practice  divided, 
began  to  be  regarded  as  of  vital  importance,  and  to  be  discussed 
with  moving  ardor.  Grave  statesmen  and  patriot  legislators 
trembled  under  the  weight  of  their  responsibilities,  as  on  all  sides 
they  apprehended  the  fearful  consequences.  Compromises  were 
resorted  to,  and  served  quite  well  for  temporary  relief  But  as 
anodynes  conceal  the  symptoms  while  the  disease  strikes  deeper 
into  the  vitals,  so  in  the  lull  of  excitement,  produced  by  concili- 
atory measures,  se6lional  differences  extended  themselves  more 
widely,  and  settled  down  into  more  determined  antagonism. 

At  length,  the  fiery  elements  of  strife  refused  to  be  longer  re- 
pressed. The  storm-cloud  was  completely  charged  with  fury, 
and  hung  dark  and  imminent  over  a  quaking  nation. 

It  was  at  such  a  time,  and  in  such  a  critical  condition  of  na- 


Rev.  W.  R.  Marshall.  153 

tional  affairs,  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  called  to  the  chief  magistracy, 
from  a  position  of  comparative  privacy,  in  which  he  had  rarely  or 
never  indulged  an  ambitious  anticipation  of  Presidential  honors 
and  responsibilities.  That  position,  always  important,  indeed, 
had  heretofore  been  chiefly  regarded  as  a  source  of  party  advan- 
tage; and  never  till  now  had  it  been  a6lually  looked  upon  as  the 
source   of  national  life  or  death. 

But  then  the  eyes  of  all  the  thoughtful  and  the  patriotic  were 
eagerly  turned  towards  that  seat  of  civil  and  military  power,  as  to 
the  only  possible  source  of  national  preservation. 

Their  anxiety,  too,  was  increased  by  its  great  embarrassments, 
—  some  manifest,  many  only  inferential.  The  disaffe6led  section 
had  swayed  the  chief  official  influence  for  many  years,  and  had 
deliberately  weakened  the  powers  of  the.  Government,  until  that 
seat  of  authority  was  left  to  the  new  incumbent  literally  unsup- 
ported. And,  looking  forward  into  the  unwonted  darkness  of  the 
future,  even  minds  of  ordinary  sagacity  could  foresee  the  rise  of 
enfeebling  divisions  among  the  loyal,  and  of  questions  that  were 
likely  to  involve  and  complicate  our  relations  to  other  countries. 
Well  might  the  lovers  of  their  country,  though  they  were  even 
friends  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  had  joined  in  his  elevation,  tremble 
with  anxiety  as  they  saw  him  assume  that  all-important  seat. 
But  with  immeasurably  more  intentness  did  He  who  occupies  the 
throne  of  universal  empire  regard  our  presidential  chair.  The 
interests  of  His  great  kingdom,  of  nations,  and  of  worlds,  were  in 
some  desfree  involved  in  our  national  crisis.  And  he  too  under- 
stood,  far  better  than  men,  the  proportions  of  that  crisis.  We 
were  greatly  mistaken  about  the  probable  magnitude  and  duration 
of  the  coming  storm.  But  Ommiscience  surveyed  and  computed 
all  correctly,  —  saw  each  wasting  campaign,  and  reviewed  in  ad- 
vance each  bloody  battle-ground;  estimated  the  full  effe6l  of 
every   defeat,   disaster,  and   disappointment;    beheld   all  the  un- 

20 


154  Memorial  Sermon . 


sightly  scenes  of  every  Fort-Pillow  massacre,  and  of  every  prison 
famine.  He  heard  the  lament  of  every  mother,  the  wail  of  every 
widow,  and  the  cry  of  every  orphan.  And  he  knew  perfe6tly 
every  exasperation  of  feeling,  every  confli6t  of  views  and  theories, 
and  every  gale  of  popular  excitement  which  "^vould  be  aroused  by 
the  horrid  phenomena  of  the  rebellion,  and  in  mighty  fury  vie 
together  in  adverse,  complicating  pressure  upon  the  President. 
And  intending,  by  humane  instrumentality,  to  bring  the  nation 
through  all  its  troubles,  chastened  indeed,  but  unsevered,  he  knew 
just  the  sort  of  man  needed  for  the  all-important  presiderjcy. 
And,  from  among  all  the  great  and  the  good,  the  wise  and  the  pa- 
triotic, he  chose  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  thus  placed  him  in  the 
indescribably  responsible  relation  to  the  present  and  the  future  of 
Conservator  and  Reformer. 

And  now,  that  the  office  is  accomplished,  and  the  history 
made,  a  grateful  but  mourning  people  gladly  consider  how  faith- 
fully and  successfully  he  performed  his  mission. 

If,  from  a  review  of  the  embarrassments  that  sought  to  tram- 
mel him,  and  the  mighty  exigencies  which  pressed  upon  him,  it 
be  inquired  whether  he  really  succeeded  in  both  aspedls  of  his 
work,  let  the  rejoicings  of  a  regenerated  nation,  and  the  acclama- 
tions of  liberated  millions,  nay,  rather  let  the  wailings  of  a  whole 
people,  who  to-day  mourn  his  loss,  answer.  Men  of  all  shades 
of  political  opinion  and  party,  of  all  classes  and  conditions  in 
social  life,  throughout  the  loyal  North,  sincerely  grieve  for  the 
fallen  great.  And  even  from  the  charred  and  crimson  fields  upon 
which  Southern  treason  played  its  cruel  drama,  we  hear  the  re- 
sponsive echo  of  our  mourning.  One  whose  position  enabled 
him  to  speak  intelligently,  and  who  had  himself  gone  heartily  and 
persistently  with  the  rebellion,  writing  from  his  home  in  Rich- 
mond to  a  friend  in  AVashington,  a  few  days  after  the  President's 
death,. says,  •'"Our  city  is  gloom.     You  can  form  no  conception  of 


Rev.  W.  R.  Marshall.  155 

the  extent  and  depth  of  our  sorrow.  I  verily  believe  that  the  as- 
sassination of  Jefferson  Davis,  at  any  time  w^ithin  the  last  two 
years,  would  not  have  produced  a  tithe  of  the  sadness  which  the 
unwelcome  intelligence  from  Washington  has  created." 

Within  the  whole  limits  of  our  national  territory  there  is,  I 
apprehend,  not  a  heart  in  which  abides  a  single  feeling  of  patriot- 
ism which  has  not  been  pierced  b}^  the  assassin  who  murdered 
the  President. 

Yea:  from  far  over  the  sea,  we  receive  greetings  of  tender 
sympathy,  the  tribute  of  other  peoples  to  the  memory  of  our  de- 
parted Chieftain,  and  tokens  of  their  regard  for  his  chara6ler  and 
his  work. 

.But,  aside  from  all  this,  as  a  sufficient  testimony  of  his  success, 
and,  I  trust,  perpetual  monument  to  his  worth,  our  nationality 
survives,  after  all  the  demons  of  insurgent  war  have  spent  their 
unparalleled  fury,  and  is  purer  and  stronger  to-day  than  it  was 
when  he  seized  the  helm  of  its  government.  And  its  full  history, 
glorious  as  I  trust  it  shall  be,  will  be  the  continued  life  of  his 
character;  and  its  prosperity,  great  and  perpetual  as  I  hope,  will 
be  the  produ6t  of  his  undying  influence. 

And  it  is  wise  and  protitable  to  study  the  elements  of  a  char- 
after  so  worthy,  and  by  the  combined  operation  of  which  results 
of  such  importance  are  effedled. 

I  St.  The  first  among  his  powers  we  recognize  his  mental  char- 
a6leristics.  If  the  varying  opinions  which  have  so  often  been 
expressed,  have  not  already  harmonized,  I  doubt  not  they  will  ere 
long  settle  down  into  the  unanimous  conclusion,  that  he  possessed 
a  mind  of  extraordinary  capacity.  His  perceptive  faculties  were 
peculiarly  penetrating  and  far  reaching;  his  reasoning  powers, 
unusually  strong  and  accurate :  and  these,  associated  with  a  mem- 
ory of  rare  excellence,  constituted  a  very  superior  mind,  and  made 
him  within  the  sphere  of  his  study  an  almost  matchless  logician. 


156  Memorial  Sermon. 


Events,  I  think,  have  already  proved,  that  no  other  man  has 
more  thoroughly  comprehended  the  great  questions  which  in 
these  days  confront  the  statesman,  and  none  ever  more  triumph- 
antly mastered  the  great  problems  of  social  life  and  civil  power 
which  their  times  developed.  There  was  a  time  when  his  genius 
was  greatly  doubted,  and  very  many  supposed  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  little  more  than  the  ignorant  mouthpiece  of  the  wise  men 
around  him.  But  I  think  it  is  now  generally  believed,  by  those 
possessing  the  best  means  of  information,  that,  throughout  his  ad- 
ministration, his  was  the  controlling  mind  in  the  Cabinet;  and  all 
the  most  important  do6lrines  maintained,  and  measures  instituted, 
were  peculiarly  his  own. 

The  well-known  circumstances  of  his  earlier  life  may  have 
contributed  some  advantages  to  the  foundation  of  his  mental  and 
moral  chara6ter;  but  doubtless  the  disadvantages  they  imposed 
greatly  preponderated.  However  much  some  are  attributing  his 
later  greatness  to  his  earlier  experience,  I  do  not  suppose  that 
any  really  regard  such  an  education  as  his  the  best  training  for 
presidential  duties,  or  would  intentionally  turn  the  ambition  of 
youthful  aspirants  into  such  a  channel.  The  common  experience 
of  the  past  will  be  the  common  experience  of  the  future,  — 
namely,  "that  the  disciple  is  as  his  master."  Generally,  influ- 
ences will  raise  chara6ter  to  their  own  level.  A  rare  mind  will, 
by  force  of  native  genius,  overleap  its  barriers,  and  lift  itself  far 
above  the  elevation  to  which  its  surrounding  influences  could 
carry  it ;  but  even  it  under  favoring  circumstances  would  have 
mounted  to  a  vastly  nobler  eminence.  From  what  we  know  he 
was,  we  might  reasonably  indulge,  what  would  otherwise  seem 
to  be  very  extravagant  speculations,  about  what  Mr.  Lincoln 
would  have  been,  had  he  enjoyed  the  best  advantages  for  educa- 
tion. But  it  is  better  that  we  simply  claim  for  him  genius;  while 
we  admire  the  persevering  industry  and  sterling  morality  which 


Rev.  W.  R.  Marshall.  157 

raised  him  far  above  the  apparent  ordination  of  circumstances, 
and  conquered  every  obstacle  that  lay  between  his  humble  ori- 
gin and  his  glorious  destiny. 

It  is,  I  believe,  universally  conceded,  that,  w^hile  he  did  come 
short  somew^hat  in  the  rhetorical  elaboration,  he  w^as  always  re- 
markably clear  in  the  enunciation  of  his  premises,  and  the  state- 
ment of  his  conclusions.  And  that  may  be  in  part  due  to  his 
education.  He  knew  little,  and  cared  less,  for  those  refinements 
of  language,  which  the  mere  disputant  often  uses  as  the  specious 
disguise  of  fallacy.  Great  facility  in  the  use  of  language  is  often 
an  element  of  weakness  rather  than  power.  Quality  is  often  sac- 
rificed to  quantity.  But  that  feature  of  mental  chara6ter  was 
chiefly  due  to  his  power  of  discussive  thinking.  Language  is  but 
the  form  or  articulation  of  thought;  and  a  man's  mental  strength 
should  be  measured  by  his  ability  to  express  meaning,  rather 
than  by  his  facility  in  pronouncing  sonorous  words:  for,  although 
there  must  be  exceptional  cases,  the  general  rule  is,  that,  when  a 
man  understands  a  subject  thoroughly,  he  will  be  able  to  express 
it  clearly.  Obscurity  of  language  is  a  sure  indication  of  insuffi- 
ciency of  thought,  or  want  of  candor.  Hence,  from  the  chara6ter- 
istics  of  his  style,  we  argue  his  intelleftual  greatness. 

But,  to  present  his  mental  capacity  in  its  true  light,  we  must 
for  a  little  anticipate  the  view  of  his  moral  chara6ter.  Civil  and 
social  questions  always  have  their  distinct  ethical  features,  which 
must  also  be  corre6lly  regarded,  in  order  to  their  adequate  com- 
prehensions. A  man  may  have  great  intellectual  powers,  and 
yet,  in  the  sphere  of  politics  and  sociology,  he  will  fall  short  of 
the  achievements  of  true  greatness,  unless  he  have  correct  and 
strong  moral  sentiments.  And  for  this  reason  many  a  flashing 
genius  has  faded  into  obscurity,  or  gone  out  in  the  darkness  of 
everlasting  disgrace.  As  the  eye  that  is  color-blind  may  be 
keenly  perceptive   of  some  rays   of  the   solar  spe6trum,  or  some 


158  Memorial  Sermon. 


of  nature's  beauties,  and  totally  insensible  to  others :  so  some  un- 
fortunate minds  are  keenly  perceptive  of  some  aspects  of  truth, 
and  totally  blind  to  others.  It  was,  however,  manifestly  not  so 
with  Mr,  Lincoln.  The  principles  of  true.  Christian  morality 
pervaded  his  mind,  and  impressed  their  features  upon  all  his 
thoughts.  He  looked  carefully  at  all  sides,  until  he  understood 
the  whole  subject  in  its  various  bearings.  And  hence,  as  the 
sequel  has  proved,  he  always  excelled  the  champions  of  more 
partisan  policy,  or  of  one-idead  fanaticism,  who  confine  their  con- 
sideration to  favorite  points  in  great  questions. 

2d.  Another  element  of  his  power,  and  condition  of  his  suc- 
cesses, was  his  very  decided  religious  convi6lions.  I  am  forbidden, 
alike  by  my  own  inclination,  and  by  the  order  of  the  Master 
whom  I  serve,  to  consider  the  question  whether  or  not  his  reli- 
gious convictions  amounted  to  genuine  Christian  faith;  whether  or 
not  he  was  a  regenerated  and  san6tified  child  of  God.  I  may 
only  say,  that  the  eminently  pious  and  judicious  gentleman  w^ho, 
during  his  administration,  sustained  to  him  the  relation  of  reli- 
gious pastor,  and  enjoyed  his  intimacy,  is  fully  persuaded  that  he 
was  a  man  of  prayer,  and  has  strong  and  comforting  hopes  that 
he  was  a  true  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ;  while  he  deeply  regrets 
that  he  never  proved  his  allegiance  to  the  Saviour  by  a  public 
avowal  of  his  religion.  But  it  is  certain,  that  his  convi6tions  of 
the  whole  truth  of  Bible  do6trines  were  profound  and  lively.  A 
knowledge  of  his  relations,  and  a  sense  of  his  obligations  and  ac- 
countabilities, to  the  living  God,  were  never  absent  from  him; 
and  to  this  faft  was  due  the  constant  manifestation  of  some  of  his 
brightest  virtues,  —  honesty,  for  instance,  the  proverbial  character- 
istic of  his  life.  I  suppose  a  man  may  be  honest  and  truthful 
without  any  Christian  convi6tions;  but  the  fa6ts  of  experience  are 
rather  against  the  supposition.  It  is  said,  that  these  qualities,  as 
permanent  traits  of  charafter,  are  never  exhibited  among  those 


Rev.  W.  R.  Marshall.  159 


families  of  mankind  which  have  not  enjoyed  the  revelation  of 
Bible  truth.  And  while  Mr.  Lincoln's  natural  impulses  were 
honest,  I  doubt  not  it  was  his  religious  sentiment  that  developed 
in  him  a  principle  which  no  motive  of  terror  or  attra6lion  availed 
to  swerve  from  stri6l  moral  rectitude. 

Another  of  his  characteristic  virtues  was  an  unfaltering  cour- 
age to  do  and  to  endure.  At  times,  when  terrible  defeat  dis- 
heartened our  armies  and  emboldened  our  foes;  when  envious 
monarchs  threatened  alliance  with  the  misfhtv  insurreftion,  or 
gazed  on  in  breathless  expe6lation  of  seeing,  under  the  rising 
battle-smoke,  the  ruins  of  our  proud  Republic,  and  friends  quaked 
with  despondent  apprehension, — the  President  remained  unshaken 
in  his  confidence  of  success,  and  in  his  determination  to  enforce 
the  nation's  authority,  and  maintain  her  integrity.  When  the 
clouds  were  blackest,  the  storm  fiercest,  and  the  sea  roughest,  as 
the  old  ship  lurched  and  groaned  until  most  faces  around  him 
were  blanched  with  fear,  the  brave-hearted  helmsman  stood  to  his 
post,  firm,  calm,  and  strong  to  guide,  order,  and  do.  Doubtless, 
courage  was  native  to  him.  But  it  was  now  fortified  and  rendered 
immovable  by  his  profound  religious  convictions.  He  fully  be- 
lieved, that  the  living  Almighty  God  has  a  kingdom  that  ruleth 
over  all,  and  that  he  is  doing  his  pleasure  in  the  armies  of  heaven, 
and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth;  present  in  all  places; 
governing  all  his  creatures,  and  ordering  all  events,  so  as  to  bring 
out  the  issues  of  his  own  divine  purposes.  Fully,  enthusiastically 
embracing  that  do6lrine  of  Almighty  Providence;  confiding  in  the 
justice  of  the  nation's  cause,  and  persuaded  of  her  grand,  heaven- 
decreed  destiny,  —  he  could  not  by  any  temporary  reverses  of  for- 
tune, or  by  any  combination  of  difficulties,  be  driven  to  despair 
of  success. 

The  courage  which  bases  itself  in  patriotism  will  accomplish 
wonders  of  daring  and  enduring;  but  that  which  is  rooted  in 
religious  convi6tion  Is  unconquerable  and   immortal. 


i6o  Memorial  Sermo7i. 


Nor  do  I  claim  such  a  basis  for  the  courageous  manifestations 
of  Mr.  Lincoln's  chara6ler  without  ample  warrant  from  his  own 
public  declarations. 

In  that  atie6ting  valedi6lory  to  the  people  of  Springfield,  he 
says,  "  I  go  to  assume  a  task  more  difficult  than  that  which  de- 
volved upon  Washington.-  Unless  the  great  God  who  assisted 
him  shall  be  with  and  aid  me,  I  must  fail.  But  if  the  same 
Omniscient  mind,  and  the  same  Almighty  arm,  that  directed  and 
prote6led  him,  shall  guide  and  support  me,  I  shall  not  fail,  I  shall 
succeed.  Let  us  all  pray  that  the  God  of  our  fathers  may  not 
forsake  us  now.  To  him  I  commend  you  all.  Permit  me  to  ask, 
that,  with  equal  sincerity  and  faith,  3-ou  all  will  invoke  his 
wisdom  and  guidance  for  me."  In  his  first  Inaugural,  while 
marshalled  soldiery  and  shotted  cannon  restrained  present  hun- 
dreds who  thirsted  for  his  blood,  he  said,  "  Intelligence,  patriotism, 
Christianity,  and  a  firm  reliance  on  Him  who  has  never  3-et  for- 
saken this  favored  land,  are  still  competent  to  adjust,  in  the  best 
way,  all  our  present  difficulties."  On  the  dark  Fourth  of  July, 
1 86 1,  he  closed  his  first  Message  to  Congress,  w^ith  this  language: 
"  Having  thus  chosen  our  cause  without  guile,  and  with  pure 
purpose,  let  us  renew  our  trust  in  God,  and  go  forward  without 
fear,  and  with  7nanly  hearts^  His  second  Inaugural  is  little  else 
than  a  reverent  review  of  God's  providence;  a  grateful  recogni- 
tion of  his  infinite  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness;  and  an  earnest 
exhortation  to  the  people  to  trust  in  him,  and  abide  his  will.  As 
the  British  ^'  Standard "  said,  it  is  "  the  most  remarkable  thing 
of  the  sort  ever  pronounced  by  any  President  of  the  United  States 
from  the  first  day  until  now.  Its  Alpha  and  its  Omega  is  Almighty 
God,  the  God  of  justice,  and  the  Father  of  mercies,  who  is  work- 
ing out  the  purposes  of  his  love.  It  is  invested  with  a  dignity  and 
pathos  which  lift  it  high  above  every  thing  of  the  kind,  whether 
in  the  Old  World  or  the  New."    I  question  much  if  INIr.  Lincoln's 


Rev.  W.  R.  Marshall.  i6i 

whole  chara6ter,  the  elements  of  his  power,  and  sources  of  his 
eminent  success,  can  ever  be  better  described  than  it  is  done  by 
his  own  pen  in  the  closing  sentence  of  that  address:  "With 
malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with  firmness  in  the 
right  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to  finish 
the  work  we  are  in;  to  bind  up  the  nation's  wounds;  to  care  for 
him  who  shall  have  borne  the  battle,  and  for  his  widow  and  his 
orphans;  to  do  all  which  ma}^  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and 
lasting  peace  among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations."  He  did  not, 
as  some  of  our  officers  have  seemed  to  do,  speak  the  language  of 
religion  only  in  proclamations  of  national  fasts  and  thanksgiving, 
when  such  acknowledgments  of  God  could  not  be  avoided;  but 
frankly  and  unhesitatingly  embraced  every  suitable  occasion  to 
give  distin6l  utterance  to  his  convi6liori-s,  and  by  the  confidence 
and  courage  which  these  convictions  inspired,  and  by  the  a6lion 
they  prompted,  conserved  our  imperilled  nationality,  and  the 
mighty  interests  of  the  times  committed  to  him.  Furthermore, 
in  this  phase  of  his  character,  he  perhaps  presents  to  the  world 
its  most  distinct  and  complete  realization  of  a  truly  Christian 
government,  in  its  two  cardinal  principles  of  human  liberty  and 
divine  sovereignty;  and  future  generations  on  this  and  other 
continents,  may  we  not  hope,  will  experience  the  blessings  of  his 
illustration  of  new  ideas  in  civil  affairs;  and  future  historians 
date  his  administration  as  the  dawning  era  of  a  Christian  Theo- 
cracy. And  hence,  in  his  relations  to  present  and  future  history, 
I  call  him  him  a  Reformer  as  well  as  Conservator. 

And,  in  support  of  my  view,  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  quote 
from  the  funeral  oration  pronounced  by  his  pastor.  After  enumer- 
ating his  virtuous  principles,  and  their  noble  exhibition.  Dr.  Gurley 
says,  "  All  these  things  commanded  and  fixed  our  admiration,  and 
the  admiration  of  the  world,  and  stamped  upon  his  chara6ler 
and  life  the  unmistakable  impress  of  greatness.     But  more  sub- 

21  t 


1 6 2  Memorial  Scj'mon . 


lime  than  any  or  all  of  these,  more  holy  and  influential,  more 
beautiful,  strong,  and  sustaining,  was  his  abiding  confidence  in 
God,  and  in  the  final  triumph  of  truth  and  righteousness  through 
him  and  for  his  sake.  This,  it  seems  to  me,  after  being  near  him 
steadil}^,  and  with  him  often,  for  more  than  four  years,  is  the 
principle,  more  than  by  any  other,  he  being  dead  yet  speaketh. 
Yes,  by  his  steady,  enduring  confidence  in  God,  and  in  the  com- 
plete ultimate  success  of  the  cause  of  God,  which  is  the  cause 
of  humanity,  more  than  in  any  other  wa}^,  does  he  now  speak  to 
us,  and  to  the  nation  he  loved  and  served  so  well.  By  this  he 
speaks  to  his  successor  in  office,  and  charges  him  to  have  faith  in 
God.  By  this  he  speaks  to  all  who  occupy  positions  of  influence 
and  authority  in  these  sad  and  troublous  times,  and  he  charges 
them  all  to  have  faith  in  God.  By  this  he  speaks  to  this  great 
people,  as  they  sit  in  sackcloth  to-day,  and  weep  for  him  with  a 
bitter  wailing,  and  refuse  to  be  comforted;  and  he  charges  them 
to  have  faith  in  God;  and  by  this  he  z£;/// speak  through  the  ages, 
and  to  all  rulers  and  peoples  in  every  land,  and  his  message  to 
them  will  be,  ^  Cling  to  liberty  and  right;  battle  for  them;  bleed 
for  them;  die  for  them,  if  need  be;  and  have  confidence  in 
God.' " 

3d.  Another  element  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  gi'eatness,  which,  in 
its  manifestation  in  his  public  life,  arrays  him  with  the  chara(5ler 
now  attributed  to  him,  was  his  strong  emotional  nature. 

I  at  least  assert  no  more  than  the  truth,  w^hen  I  say  his  heart- 
power  was  as  great  as  his  brain-power.  The  purer  and  better 
emotions  of  our  nature,  which  tend  to  a6lual  and  universal 
brotherhood  among  men;  which  sink  personal  ambitions  into 
fraternal  sympathies,  subordinate  self-interests  to  common  enjoy- 
ments, restore  to  the  race  some  features  of  the  divine  image,  and 
recover  for  it  some  of  the  happiness  and  dignity  of  its  pristine 
state,  —  manifest  their  presence  and  unusual  strength,  while  they 


Rev.  W.  R.  Marshall.  163 


shed  an  enchanting  lustre  of  beauty  and  loveHness  over  the  whole 
private  and  public  life  of  the  great  man.  He  was  proverbially- 
good-natured  and  affe6lionate,  benevolent  and  forgiving.  True 
to  the  worthy,  grateful  to  the  friendly,  charitable  to  the  needy, 
forbearing  to  the  erring,  impartial  as  a  father,  patient  as  a  mother, 
tender  as  a  child.  Deep  as  it  may  be,  the  public  impression  of 
his  emotional  chara6leristics  is  not  equal  to  the  fa6l.  Incidents 
are  related  by  those  who  saw  the  inner  and  more  private  side 
of  his  life,  showing  that  he  could  not  bear  the  consciousness  of 
having  unnecessarily  hurt  the  feelings  of  a  human  being,  or 
of  having  failed  to  alleviate  when  he  might.  It  cannot  be  dis- 
puted, that,  by  the  exercise  of  these  noble  affe6lions,  he  multiplied 
friends  and  diminished  foes,  and  thus  greatly  strengthened  his 
own  arm  of  official  power,  and  promoteel  the  cause  of  his  country. 
Nor  can  it  be  that  his  benevolent  dispositions  were  excessive; 
unless  we  have  entirely  mistaken  his  chara6ter  in  other  respefts. 
Kindness  never  can  be  too  great  unless  it  displace  wisdom  and 
justice.  If  charity  errs  at  all,  it  must  be  either  through  ignorance 
or  disregard  of  the  right.  And,  while  I  do  not  suppose  our  late 
President  was  in  all  instances  corre6l  in  his  judgment,  I  do  main- 
tain that  he  was  generally  so,  and  perhaps  always  sincere  in  his 
intentions  to  do  right.  I  have  no  sympathy  with  the  morbid 
sentimentalism  that  in  any  case  opposes  the  infliction  of  the 
righteous  penalty  of  crime.  I  believe  there  is  a  principle  of 
retributive  justice,  as  immutable  as  an  attribute  of  divinity,  which 
demand  a  satisfaction  for  guilt;  and  a  principle  of  re6torial  justice, 
which  guards  the  dignity  and  safety  of  Government.  Nor  do  I 
indicate  any  opinion  concerning  the  policy  that  should  now  be 
adopted  as  suited  to  the  present  or  future  condition  of  things; 
but  I  do  affirm  my  belief  that  the  principles  which  controlled  Mr. 
Lincoln's  treatment  of  his  country's  foes  were  wise  and  Christian 
in  the  main.     Providence  assigned  to  him  the  work  of  suppres- 


164  Memorial  Sermon. 


sing  the  rebellion,  and  saving  the  nation;  and  reserved  for  another 
the  responsibility  of  prosecuting  and  punishing  the  captured 
offenders  by  due  process  of  law. 

The  history  of  revolutions  will  never  change  until  human 
nature  itself  changes.  And  the  analogy  of  all  recorded  experi- 
ence certainly  establishes  the  fa6t,  that  the  re-a6lion  of  sentiment 
among  the  common  people  after  failure,  particularly  of  a  cause- 
less rebellion,  is  general,  rapid,  and  extreme;  and  I  doubt  not  that 
there  w^ill  be,  ere  long,  in  the  hearts  of  many  who  have  served  in 
the  insurgent  ranks,  a  veneration  for  the  old  flag,  and  a  loyalty 
to  the  old  Government,  as  intense  as  the  emotions  which  impelled 
the  nation's  defenders.  And  hence  I  have  never  believed,  that 
our  union  of  States,  union  of  hearts,  and  union  of  hands  was,  or 
would  now  be,  permanently  severed.  And  I  maintain,  that  the 
efte6t  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  benevolent  policy  will  be  to  promote 
greatly  the  rapidity  and  completeness  of  that  re-a6tion.  He  has 
prepared  the  people  of  the  South,  so  soon  as  their  leaders  are 
disposed  of,  and  the  base  falsehoods  which  deluded  them  are  dis- 
sipated, to  hurry  back  into  happy  re-union  and  hearty  allegiance, 
as  a  prodigal  son,  allured  by  a  father's  kindness,  hastens  back  to 
the  shelter  of  his  home,  and  to  the  blessings  of  his  beneficent 
authority;  while  it  is  at  least  probable  that  a  different  policy 
would  have  aggravated  the  struggle,  given  excuse  for  the  inter- 
ference of  envious  power  abroad,  and  have  crushed  thousands 
more  of  the  innocent,  if  not  also  the  nation's  life,  under  the  cruel 
tread  of  bloody  vengeance. 

And  not  only  did  he  thus  conserve  the  nation's  life,  but  thus 
also  he  reformed  the  chai^after  of  her  civilization,  illustrating 
doctrines  heretofore  comparatively  inoperative  in  civil  ethics,  and 
aftualizing  before  the  world  the  great  social  laws  of  the  Christian 
religion.  While  with  traitorous  intrigue  and  blackest  malice,  the 
rebels  sought  our  nation's  life;  and  while  with  a  savage  cruelty, 


Rev.  W.  R.  Marshall.  165 


more  fiendish  than  human,  they  massacred  and  starved  our 
soldiers  when  helpless  captives  in  their  hands,  —  the  President's 
kindness  and  the  people's  forbearance,  nay,  their  charitable  minis- 
tration of  temporal  comforts  and  spiritual  privileges  to  all  the 
wounded  and  the  captive,  the  sick  and  the'  dying  enemies  who 
could  be  reached  by  the  hundreds  of  Christian  and  Sanitary 
delegates  who  were  always  in  the  field,  furnish  the  brightest,  aye, 
the  first  such  copy  of  the  Saviour's  chara6fer,  the  first  instance  of 
a  great  nation  obeying  the  divine  precept:  "Love  your  enemies, 
bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you,  and 
pray  for  them  which  despitefully  use  you  and  persecute  you." 
And,  if  we  still  prove  ourselves  just  as  well  as  merciful,  no  human 
foresight  can  predi6l  the  blessing  which  our  example  may  confer 
upon  mankind  by  subduing  the  ferocity-  of  war,  —  nor  predi6l  the 
influence  in  behalf  of  Christianity  which  it  may  enable  the  Church 
of  this  land  to  exert  over  the  heathen  mind. 

The  missionary  of  Christ  will  now  leave  our  shores  with  an 
indorsement  such  as  the  citizen  of  no  other  country  can  bear; 
and  as,  with  the  benighted  and  wretched,  he  maintains  the  truth 
and  excellence  of  the  gospel,  he  can  refer  to  the  history  of  his 
own  country  as  an  exhibition  of  gospel  fruits  in  a  form  that  will 
command  the  admiration  of  every  human  heart.  Yea,  he  may 
quote  that  history  as  a  living  and  unanswerable  argument  in  favor 
of  the  Christian  religion  and  republican  liberty.  Nor  will  he  find 
that  testimony  any  longer  rebutted  by  the  black  record  of  Amer- 
ican slavery,  or  the  gospel  impeded  in  its  progress  by  any  thing 
in  our  political  and  social  institutions  so  opposed  to  its  spirit  as 
human  bondage;  since  under  God,  and  at  the  proper  jun6ture 
of  providential  events,  our  lamented  President,  in  the  justice, 
benevolence,  and  courage  of  his  heart,  by  the  immediate  power 
and  mediate  consequence  of  his  emancipation  order,  broke  "every 
yoke,  and  let  the  oppressed  go  free."     And  now  as  a  purified  and 


1 66  Manorial  Sermon. 


Christianized  nationality  invites  the  contemplation,  challenges 
the  admiration,  and  entreats  the  imitation,  of  all  people,  hastening 
on  the  disinthralment  of  the  race,  Abraham  Lincoln  —  at  once 
the  model  and  the  archite6t  of  the  new  chara6ler  —  will  stand 
out  in  all  future  history  as  a  world  reformer ;  and  succeeding 
generations  will  still  continue  the  strain  of  honor  to  his  memory, 
and  thanksgiving  to  Heaven  for  the  gift  of  such  a  man,  to  such  a 
nation,  at  such  a  time. 

Thrice  happy  America!  blessed  with  a  Washington  and 
a  Lincoln!  unparalleled  patriots!  unexampled  leaders!  What 
incredulous  mind  will  now  doubt  her  grand  destiny?  What  trai- 
torous arm  ever  again  attempt  to  ar-rest  her  progress  ?  Let  all 
her  sons  read,  in  the  history  of  the  glorious  past,  the  prophecy 
of  her  more  glorious  future,  and  still  revive  their  patriotism  and 
their  religion  by  memories  of  the  fallen  great!  Let  their  spirit 
inspire  all  her  sons,  and  their  mantle  rest  on  all  her  rulers !  And 
let  her  ever  cherish,  defend,  and  disseminate  the  noble,  heaven- 
born  principles  for  which  Washington  lived,  for  which  Lincoln 
died ;  and,  with  unwavering  earnestness,  and  unswerving  devotion 
to  the  cause  of  God  and  man,  bear  onward  to  all  the  world  that 
charming  banner  upon  which  the  honored  dead  emblazoned  the 
inscription,  —  a  pure  Christianity  and  universal  Liberty. 

Ohio  State  journal,  Columbus,  yune  lo,  1865. 


DEATH    OF   PRESIDENT   LINCOLN: 


A  ^SERMON  ; 


BY    REV.   J.   F.    POTTS,    B.A., 


LONDON,      ENGLAND. 


Judges,  xvi.  30:  "So" the  dead  which  he  slew  at  his  death  were  more  than  they  which  he 

slew  in  his  life." 

THAT  which  is  good  never  dies.  In  proportion  as  it  is  good, 
it  partakes  of  the  nature  of  God ;  and  hence  in  the  same 
proportion  is  eternal.  Sometimes  it  seems  to  die,  but  in  truth  it 
is  only  removed  to  some  higher  position  of  life  and  power.  It  is 
on  this  account  that  in  the  Word,  to  die,  when  spoken  of  good- 
ness, denotes  to  rise  again;  and  when  man  reads  of  death,  the 
angels  think  of  resurrection.  What  is  true  of  principles  is  also 
true  of  persons,  for  persons  are  principles  embodied.  A  good 
man,  therefore,  never  dies.  He  seems  to  die,  —  we  miss  him 
from  his  accustomed  and  familiar  position  amongst  us;  we  say 
he  is  dead.  It  is  a  mistake:  he  lives  more  really  than  ever;  for 
his  thoughts  are  far  more  clear,  his  judgment  is  far  more  cor- 
re6t,  his  perceptions  are  far  more  vivid,  and  his  affe6tions  far 
more  intense  and  absorbing,  than  before.  And  thought  and 
affection  are  the  two  constituents  of  our  conscious  life.  On  the 
other  hand,  that  which  is  evil  never  lives.  It  seems  to  live,  it 
"  has  the  name  to  live; "  but,  just  in  proportion  as  it  is  evil,  "  it  is 


1 68  Death  of  President  Lincohi. 

dead,"  because  in  the  same  proportion  it  is  separate  from  the  only 
source  of  life.  Hence,  in  the  Word,  by  the  dead,  are  meant  the 
evil,  whether  persons  or  principles;  and  to  slay  the  dead  is  to 
drive  away  the  evil,  to  disperse  the  inventions  of  falsehood,  and 
to  subjugate  the  dark,  impure  passions  of  selfishness  in  all  its 
various  forms.  These  are  "the  dead,"  which  it  is  our  duty  to 
slay,  —  errors,  impure  ideas,  selfish  machinations,  desires  which 
render  us  regardless  of  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  others,  bad 
habits,  —  all  principles  of  death  and  self-destru6lion;  and,  when 
personified,  evil  spirits,  dead  souls,  who  will  slay  us,  unless  we 
overcome  them,  and  drive  them  far  away.  These  are  the  dead 
which  the  good  man  slays  in  his  life;  but,  when  he  rises  above 
this  earthly  battle-ground,  he  at  once,  by  the  a6t  which  we  call 
death,  disperses  them  for  ever,  and  thus  enters  into  a  state  of 
perpetual  peace,  where  he  is  free  from  the  suggestions  of  false- 
hood, and  untempted  by  the  influences  of  evil.  True,  therefore, 
it  is,  of  every  good  man  who  has  departed  from  amongst  us 
below,  as  of  the  mighty  Danite,  that  "  the  dead  which  he  slew  at 
his  death  were  more  than  they  which  he  slew  in  his  life." 

The  reason  why  these  divine  w^ords  apply  to  every  good  man 
is,  that  they  apply  to  the  Lord,  who  is  the  divine  pattern  and 
forerunner  of  us  all;  for  Samson  represents  the  Lord  in  his 
chara6ter  of  a  Divine  Natural  Man.  It  was  by  means  of  the 
natural  degree  into  which  the  Lord  descended  when  born  into 
the  world,  that  he  engaged  in  personal  conflict  with  the  powers 
of  darkness.  It  was  in  that  degree  that  he  fought  his  life-long 
battle  with  the  spiritual  Philistines  who  had  enslaved  his  people, 
gradually  driving  them  back,  and  releasing  the  human  race  from 
their  tyranny,  until  the  work  was  so  far  accomplished,  and  the 
vi6lory  so  nearly  achieved,  that  it  wanted  but  one  signal  effort  to 
finish  the  one,  and  secure  the  other.  That  effort  was  made  when 
the    Lord    underwent   his   last  direful   temptation  on  the   cross. 


Rev.  y.  F.  Potts,  B.A.  169 

When  that  was  over,  and  his  innocent  earthly  life  had  been 
yielded  up,  hell  was  not  merely  conquered,  it  was  subjugated; 
it  was  not  merely  shut  up,  it  was  sealed:  for  that  final  a6l  fully 
completed  the  Lord's  glorification,  and  thus  caused  him  to  arise 
a  Divine  Man  for  ever,  and  to  stand  as  the  eternal  Samson  in  his 
Divine  Natural  degree,  —  the  eternal  vanquisher  of  the  hells,  to 
"  keep  them  in  subjection  for  ever."  It  is  therefore  true,  yea, 
infinitely  true,  of  him,  that  the  "  dead  which  he  slew  at  his  death 
were  more  than  they  which  he  slew  in  his  life." 

The  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  these  considerations  is,  that 
what  we  call  death  is,  to  goodness,  its  vi6lory  and  completion; 
that  it  is  more  to  its  advantage  than  all  its  previous  progressions, 
because  it  is  their  final  finishing  and  ultimation,  the  fixing  process 
of  them  all,  and  thus  stands  superior  in -the  proportion  that  eter- 
nity is  superior  to  time.  Bearing  this  conclusion  in  mind,  it  will 
enable  us  to  see  why  the  great  and  good  man  who  lately  stood  at 
the  head  of  the  great  American  Republic  has  been  suddenly 
stricken  down  in  his  distinguished  place,  and  removed  from  the 
position  he  had  filled  so  well  and  with  such  signal  success,  at 
the  very  time  when  it  seemed  to  us  he  was  about  to  exercise  its 
functions  with  more  success  and  usefulness  than  ever.  And,  in 
doing  this,  it  is  not  my  obje6t  to  pass  any  panegyric  upon  Presi- 
dent Lincoln;  for  a  man's  deeds,  and  the  work  he  leaves  behind 
him  done,  are  his  true  panegyric,  and  one  which  is  based  upon  a 
secure  foundation,  because  it  will  stand  or  fall,  will  fail  or  con- 
tinue, according  to  the  chara6ler  of  that  foundation.  I  shall, 
therefore,  merely  quote  well-established  fa6ls,  and  endeavor  to 
draw  from  them  sound  and  instructive  inferences,  calculated 
to  throw  light  upon  the  apparently  mysterious  a6lion  of  the 
divine  Providence  in  this  and  similar  events,  and  to  heal  over 
the  cruel  wound  which  has  been  stabbed  in  all  our  hearts  by  this 
affli6ling  blow  and  this  seemingly  irreparable  loss. 

22 


170  Death  of  President  Lincobi. 

President  Lincoln  was  the  abolisher  of  slavery.  It  is  true 
that  only  the  will  of  a  nation  can  abolish  a  national  evil;  never- 
theless, if  that  will  has  not  its  exponent  and  instrument  in  its 
administrative  officers,  it  is  not  carried  out.  But  he  was  not  only 
the  w^illing  instrument,  —  he  was  the  leader:  he  was  not  only  the 
servant  of  that  will,  —  he  was,  as  far  as  a  single  man  could  be, 
the  creator  of  it.  At  the  commencement  of  his  political  career, 
—  when  to  do  so  was  unpopular,  if  not  dangerous,  — he  raised  his 
voice  against  that  truly  infernal  institution,  as  the  serpent  that 
would  destroy  the  children  of  his  country.  And,  when  he  came 
into  a  position  where  he  could  show  by  his  a6ls  the  sincerity  of 
his  words,  he  never  failed  to  exert  his  influence  against  its  exten- 
sion, until  at  last,  when  he  stood  in  a  position  which  gave  him 
supreme  authority  over  slavery,  he  published  the  edi(5l  which 
declared  its  end,  and  finally  secured  its  destruction  by  drawing 
all  his  countrymen  after  him,  and  thus  made  his  individual  decree 
a  national  principle.  But  just  at  the  moment  that  the  dark  and 
cruel  system  was  overthrown,  and,  crouching  at  his  feet,  was 
awaiting  its  final  extirpation,  the  great,  guiding  hand  which  had 
conferred  freedom,  and  thereby  humanity,  upon  millions,  was  in 
an  instant  powerless,  and  the  voice  which  had  uttered  the  noble 
and  inspiring  call  of  liberty  was  silent.  Is,  then,  the  work  to 
remain  unfinished?  and  are  the  millions  to  slide  back  into  what 
is  worse  than  death,  because  the  giver  of  freedom  died?  No! 
77/^-/ finished  the  work;  that  made  the  millions  secure.  There 
is  not  a  man  in  all  that  vast  country,  who  has  learned  to  love  Mr. 
Lincoln's  principles,  and  whose  heart  has  been  made  to  writhe  in 
anguish  and  inconsolable  woe  under  the  sense  of  so  cruel  a  loss, 
but  will  swear  himself  in,  from  that  moment  of  grief,  to  the 
complete  and  final  accomplishment  of  all  those  obje6ts,  and 
the  steady  maintenance  of  all  those  principles,  which  filled  the 
life,  and  constituted  the  character,  of  that  great-and  good,  —  that 


Rev.  J.  F.  Potts,  B.A.  171 

loved  and  lamented  ruler.  If,  then,  the  influence  of  this  truly 
illustrious  man  upon  his  fellow-countrymen  was  great  whilst  he 
liv^ed,  how  much  greater  will  it  be  now  that  he  has  sealed  his 
devotion  to  his  country  with  his  life;  and,  if  slavery  received  its 
death-blow  from  his  living  hand,  how  surely  must  that  hand, 
though  now  unseen,  crush  out  into  non-existence  its  last  misera- 
ble and  dying  remnants!  May  we  not,  therefore,  say  of  President 
Lincoln,  as  it  was  said  of  the  conqueror  of  the  Philistines,  that 
"  the  dead  which  he  slew  at  his  death  were  more  than  they  which 
he  slew  in  his  life  "? 

After  a  man's  death,  his  principles  are  more  respe6led,  and  his 
words  have  more  weight,  than  during  his  life.  This  is  a  remark 
which  applies  equally  to  the  boy  who  has  lost  his  parent,  and  the 
nation  which  has  been  deprived  of  its -head  and  leading  counsel- 
lor. Therefore,  the  same  result  which  we  have  seen  to  be  likely 
to  follow  in  the  case  of  slavery  is,  by  the  same  rule,  likely  to 
follow  in  the  case  of  every  other  noble  and  useful  principle  of 
which  the  late  President  was  the  advocate.  Where,  then,  is  the 
loss  that  our  sister  nation  has  sustained  in  his  removal  ?  It  must  be 
admitted,  that,  in  regard  to  the  principles  which  President  Lincoln 
maintained  during  his  life,  there  is  no  loss.  It  must  be  admitted 
that  there  is  great  gain,  arising  from  that  exaltation  of  feeling 
with  which  we  have  before  seen  the  words  and  a6lions  of  the 
departed  are  regarded,  especially  when,  as  in  this  case,  those 
feelings  are  of  the  most  tender  and  the  deepest  chara6ler, — 
written  indelibly  on  every  heart  by  the  grief  and  horror  caused 
by  such  treatment,  and  such  a  death,  of  so  innocent,  so  kind,  and 
so  gentle  a  man.  But  with  regard  to  the  future.  It  may  be  still 
feared  that  the  great  guiding-hand  will  be  missed  in  those  emer- 
gencies not  covered  by  the  principles  which  that  hand  had  im- 
planted. And  this  brings  us  to  consider  briefly,  the  second  reason 
why  great  men  are  removed  in  the  midst  of  their  useful  career. 


172  Death  of  President  Lincoln. 

No  man  contains  in  himself  all  perfection.  It  is  therefore 
quite  possible  that  he  who  is  the  best  man  to  commence  a  great 
work  may  not  be  the  best  to  complete  it.  The  Lord  alone  can 
judge  of  a  man's  fitness  to  a6t  in  the  future,  because  to  him  alone 
is  the  future  known.  We  cannot,  therefore,  doubt  for  a  moment, 
that,  when  the  divine  Providence  removes  a  man  from  a  useful 
post,  it  is  because  another  can  thereby  fill  it  better,  —  that  is  to 
sa}^,  in  the  new  circumstances  which  are  about  to  be  developed. 
We  need,  therefore,  have  no  fear  for  the  future.  And  we  shall 
be  still  less  disposed  to  harbor  any  such  fear,  when  we  come  to 
consider  the  third  reason  why  great  men  are  removed  from  the 
scene  of  their  useful  labors  here. 

It  is  that  they  may  occupy  a  higher  sphere  of  usefulness.  A 
man's  faculties  are  in  no  way  impaired  by  death ;  on  the  contrary, 
they  are  greatly  exalted.  The  mind  remains  the  same;  and  all 
its  operations  are  in  the  highest  degree  facilitated  by  being 
divested  of  the  material  body.  Surely,  then,  we  are  not  to  think 
of  President  Lincoln  as  dead;  but  rather,  indeed,  of  his  being 
more  truly  alive.  He  has  doubtless  already  joined  many  of  his 
compatriots  who  had  before  laid  dow^n  their  lives  on  the  field  of 
battle.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that,  for  a  considerable  period  at 
least,  his  thoughts  and  conversation  will  be  about  his  country; 
nay,  there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that  his  occupation  will  for 
the  present  be  connected  in  some  intimate  manner  with  her 
aftairs.  We  know  that  spiritual  beings  are  not  distant  from  us, 
but  exercise  a  constant  influence  upon  our  thoughts  and  affec- 
tions; and  this  not  only  in  a  general  manner,  but  also  by  actual 
personal  attendance  upon  us.  Who,  then,  can  say  that  the  dire6t 
influence  of  their  late  President  will  not  be  far  more  powerful 
upon  our  American  brethren,  yea,  upon  all  the  world,  than  ever 
it  could  be  before?  Who  knows  but  that  he  may  be  permitted 
to  infuse  into  his  successors  a  double  measure  of  all  the  great 


Rev.  J.  F.  Potts,  B.A.  173 

principles  which  a6luated  himself,  —  the  spirit  of  freedom,  of 
order,  of  peace,  of  gentleness,  and  of  justice  not  alien  to  mercy? 
If,  then,  his  influence  upon  the  minds  of  his  countrymen  was 
great  when  it  reached  them  through  their  bodies,'  how  much 
greater  must  it  be  when  it  a6t:s  immediately  upon  their  spirits! 
It  has  been  truly  said  by  a  distinguished  statesman  of  our  own 
country,  that  great  men  never  die.  How  true  this  is,  is  at  once 
evident  to  us,  when  we  elevate  our  thoughts  for  a  moment  into 
the  spiritual  world,  and  see  the  great  departed  still  busily  occu- 
pied in  works  of  even  greater  and  wider  importance  than  while 
visibly  living  amongst  us. 

These,  therefore,  are  some  of  the  reasons  which,  I  think,  may 
fairly  be  assigned  in  explanation  of  such  apparently  great  national 
calamities  as  sometimes  befall  nations  in  the  death  of  their  emi- 
nent statesmen.  But,  in  the  case  of  President  Lincoln,  I  think 
we  may  see  a  fourth  and  crowning  reason  for  his  sudden  removal, 
which,  if  possible,  surpasses  all  the  others  in  the  importance  of 
its  consequences.  It  is  the  union  of  good  men.  And  surely 
there  is  need  enough  of  such  a  union  at  the  present  time.  If 
ever  there  was  a  period  when  some  powerful  agency  was  called 
for  to  spread  abroad  over  a  devastated  and  divided  country  the 
spirit  of  concord,  surely  it  is  now,  when  the  thunder-clouds  of 
war  are  just  about  to  roll  away  from  the  horizon  of  a  great,  and 
hitherto  a  peaceful,  nation.  And,  in  the  event  which  is  the  sub- 
je6l  of  this  discourse^  I  think  we  may  see  the  creation  of  that 
agency.  There  is  no  good  man  anywhere,  —  no  man  whom  we 
can  recognize  as  worthy  of  the  name,  —  no  man  whose  chara6ter 
has  not  become  utterly  debased,  by  constant  conta6l  with  infernal 
influences, — but  will  regard  that  cruel  and  dreadful  assassination 
with  unmitigated  and  inexpressible  horror.  The  consequence 
will  be  that  there  will  simultaneously  exist  in  the  breasts  of  all 
such  men,  whether  in  North  or  South,  one  common,  one  intense 


174  Death  of  Presidejit  Lincoln. 

and  lasting,  feeling.  Thus  there  will  be  a  true  and  general  sym- 
pathy amongst  them;  and  the  ground  will  thereby  be  formed  for 
a  union  of  all  right-minded  men  throughout  the  country,  and  a 
general  forgetfulness  of  all  feelings  either  of  triumph  or  disap- 
pointment. Let  us  all  hope  and  pray  that  it  may  be  so!  And,  if 
events  justify  the  predi6tion,  will  not  the  divine  and  prophetic 
words  once  more  be  verified,  and  will  not  a  demon  of  death  and 
disunion  be  slain  by  the  death  of  him  whose  life  would  not  have 
availed  so  effedlually  to  destroy  it? 

But  we  may  take  a  wider  view  of  the  action  of  this  apparently 
calamitous  event,  in  promoting  the  union  of  good  men.  And  here 
we  have  to  deal  not  so  much  w^ith  probabilities  as  with  fa6ts. 
Here  we  have  to  view  a  most  instructive,  as  well  as  a  most  de- 
lightful, phenomenon.  It  is  the  effeft  which  has  been  wrought 
by  that  event  upon  the  entire  body  of  our  nation.  Surely,  if  two 
nations  ever  had  reason  to  be  united  in  bonds  of  sympathy  and 
love,  or  to  be  mutually  desirous  to  stand  by  and  assist  each  other, 
the  two  Atlantic  nations  have  that  reason.  Nursed  in  the  same 
cradle,  speaking  the  same  language,  living  under  pra6tically  par- 
allel institutions,  working  for  the  same  obje6ts,  and  engaged  in 
the  same  pursuits,  —  surely,  two  such  countries  should  ever 
consider  each  other  as  brethren,  linked  together  by  the  most 
tender  ties  of  relationship  and  mutual  interest.  And  we,  New- 
Churchmen,  have  a  still  dearer  reason  to  desire  the  stri6l  union 
of  America  and  England;  for  these  are  the  true  lands  of  the 
New  Church,  and  we  feel  ourselves  shared  out  between  the  two. 
If,  therefore,  we  are  a6luated  by  that  lofty  charity  which  tran- 
scends even  the  love  of  our  country  (  I  mean  the  love  of  our 
Church),  we  shall  be  disposed  to  hail  with  the  deepest  thank- 
fulness and  joy  every  manifestation  of  S3'mpathy,  and  every 
strengthening  of  the  natural  union  which  exists  between  our 
respe6tive  countries.     And  probably  no  possible  event  could  so 


Rev.  y.  F.  Potts,  B.A.  175 

have  called  forth  that  sympathy,  and  thereb}^  strengthened  that 
union,  as  that  which  the  divine  Providence  has  now  permitted  to 
take  place.  One  universal  feeling  of  grief  and  horror  pierced 
our  national  heart;  and  every  man,  whatever  side  in  the  late  war 
he  may  have  espoused,  was  at  once  united  with  every  other  man 
in  that  grief  and  consternation.  The  consequence  has  been  such 
a  national  message  from  us,  sent  across  the  Atlantic,  as  will 
deeply  touch  the  heart  of  our  sister  country,  and  no  doubt  greatly 
soften  the  bitterness  of  her  grief;  for  there  is  no  time  like  the 
period  of  affli6lion  for  the  power  of  heavenly  sympathy  to  be  felt, 
and  hearts  that  have  before  been  utterly  estranged  are  often  united 
in  the  presence  of  some  common  calamity. 

"  Sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity."  It  is  good  for  nations,  as 
well  as  for  individual  men,  that  they  should  sometimes  "  be 
affli6led."  Have  we  not,  therefore,  every  reason  to  hope  that 
from  this  time  a  new  leaf  will  be  turned  over  in  our  national 
relationship;  and  the  two  nations,  which  both  have  in  them  the 
capacity  for  such  noble  progress  and  momentous  achievements, 
will  henceforth  stand  side  by  side,  willing  to -assist  as  well  as  to 
be  assisted  by  each  other,  each  willing  to  learn  from  the  other, 
as  well  as  each  willing  to  teach,  —  willing  to  see  that  the  progress 
and  welfare  of  the  one  involves  the  progress  and  welfare  of  the 
other,  and  each  willing,  therefore,  to  dread  and  to  avert  disaster 
from  the  other,  because  its  own  disaster  would  thereby  be 
insured  .f*  If  this  sad  but  memorable  event,  then,  be  the  starting- 
point  of  so  glorious  a  result,  have  we  not  reason  to  acknowledge 
in  this  dispensation,  as  in  all  others,  —  to  acknowledge  even  with 
gratitude  and  joy,  —  the  action  of  that  divine  Hand  of  love  and 
wisdom  which  is  ever  operating,  with  infinite  solicitude,  for  the 
welfare  of  the  creatures  it  has  formed.^  And  can  we  not  all  truly 
say  of  the  great  and  good  man  who  knew  how  to  wield  power 
with    gentleness;    who    could    detest  and    destroy  principles    ot 


176 


Death  of  Preside7it  Liiicoln. 


death,  at  the  same  time  that  he  could  treat  the  men  who  main- 
tained them  with  mercy;  who  gained  the  respe6l  and  love  of 
all  men,  and  who  knew  how  to  speak  kindly  of  his  enemies, — 
can  we  not  say  of  him  that  "  the  dead  which  he  slew  at  his  death 
were  more  than  they  which  he  slew  in  his  life"?  —  the  dead  and 
death-dealing  principles  of  slavery,  of  disunion,  and  of  discord 
among  nations. 


The  Ititellci^iial  Repository,  Lotidon,  yune  i,  1865. 


|Si 

m 
'"x" 

fr>^\v\^> 

DEATH    OF   PRESIDENT   LINCOLN: 


A    SERMON    DELIVERED    AT    THE    FIRST    PARISH    CHURCH,    BANGOR,    MAINE, 

ON    SUNDAY,    APRIL    l6,     1S65  ; 

BY    REV.    L.    S.    ROWLAND.   . 


2  Sam.  iii.  3S :  '-There  is  a  prince  and  a  great  man  fallen  this  day  in  Israel ! " 

HOW  soon  is  our  joy  turned  into  sorrow,  and  our  shouts  of 
exultation  into  tears  of  mourning!  Your  hearts  are  full 
of  the  great  sorrow,  and  so  is  mine;  and  you  do  not  wish  to  have 
any  foreign  thoughts,  however  sacred  in  themselves,  brought  be- 
fore your  minds  this  morning.  Our  President,  the  great  and 
good  man,  is  gone,  struck  down  by  the  assassin's  hand,  in  the 
flush  of  the  nation's  triumph  and  of  his  own,  with  the  prospeft 
before  him  of  a  speedy  and  triumphant  termination  of  the  great 
confli6t  in  which  he  as  the  nation's  head  had  been  engaged  so 
long:  on  the  anniversary  of  the  day  in  which  the  struggle  began, 
and  with  the  hemisphere  resounding  with  the  acclamations  of 
four  millions  of  bondmen,  transformed  by  his  a6l  from  chattels 
into  men,  his  career  is  suddenly  cut  short  by  the  hand  of  vio- 
lence. 

Perhaps  it  was  fitting  that  he  should  die  thus.  For  the  fixing 
and  perpetuation  of  his  vi6lim's  fame,  the  assassin  could  not  have 
chosen  a  more  opportune  moment  for  the  deed.  With  no  stain 
upon  his  character,  as  a  patriot  and  a  man;  when  the  nation  was 

23 


178  Death  of  p7'esident  Lincoln. 

ready  to  acknowledge  his  wisdom  as  a  statesman,  as  well  as  his 
honesty  of  purpose;  when  his  policy  in  the  conduct  of  the  nation 
had  been  proved  by  its  brilliant  success  to  be  the  wisest  and  the 
best;  when  he  had  received  the  highest  of  proofs,  by  his  re-elec- 
tion to  his  responsible  office,  that  he  possessed  the  fullest  confi- 
dence of  the  nation;  and  when  even  foreign  and  covertly  hostile 
powers  had  been  forced  to  acknowledge  his  skill  as  a  ruler  and 
diplomatist,  —  at  such  a  time,  if  fame,  imperishable  through  all 
generations,  had  been  the  obje6l  of  his  ambition,  he  might  have 
chosen  to  die,  and  to  die  as  he  did.  In  a  longer  career  he  might 
have  committed  mistakes  that  would  have  cast  some  shadow  on 
the  brightness  of  his  fame.  If  he  had  died  in  his  bed  by  the 
power  of  disease,  —  though  even  then  the  nation  would  have 
mourned  him  as  a  father,  —  his  departure  would  not  have  so  im- 
pressed his  memory  into  the  heart  of  the  nation  and  the  world. 
But  now,  his  name  will  be  enshrined  for  ever  among  those  who 
have  sealed  by  their  blood  their  fidelity  to  the  rights  of  mankind. 
The  martyr's  crown  is  now  added  to  his  other  claims  upon  the 
remembrance  and  the  gratitude  of  posterity;  and,  in  all  the  noble 
army  of  mart3'rs,  no  name  will  shine  with  a  purer  and  brighter 
lustre  in  the  pages  of  future  history,  than  that  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. 

We  weep,  therefore,  not  for  him,  but  for  ourselves  and  for  our 
children.  His  fame  is  established  for  ever;  but  what  is  to  be- 
come of  the  Ship  of  State,  now  left  upon  the  stormy  sea,  without 
his  wise  guidance?  He  seemed  to  have  been  raised  up  by  Pro- 
vidence for  the  purpose  of  guiding  the  nation  through  its  present 
peril.  His  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  were  just  what  were 
needed  for  the  dire6tion  of  affairs  in  such  stormy  times  as  these. 
Without  his  cool  judgment,  his  moderation,  to  temper  the  excited 
counsels  of  the  other  branches  of  the  Government;  without  his 
kindness  and   conciliation   in   dealing  with  both  friends  and  foes, 


Rev.  L.  S.  Rowland.  179 


—  the  nation  would  probably  have  been  irretrievably  ruined  long 
ere  this.  We  thought  him,  at  the  beginning  of  the  confli6l,  slow 
and  vacillating.  We  longed  for  the  will  and  boldness  of  a  Jack- 
son at  the  head  of  affairs.  But  subsequent  events  have  shown, 
that  his  moderation  was  the  highest  wisdom;  that  his  slowness 
was  the  most  speed}^  method  of  accomplishing  the  great  work  in 
hand.  We  had  confidence  in  his  honesty  from  the  beginning; 
but  we  had  learned  to  call  him  great  as  well  as  good,  and  to  view 
him  as  the  centre  of  the  nation's  hopes  for  the  future.  His  career 
as  a  ruler  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  history.  His  success 
in  uniting  the  people  in  his  support,  and  in  so  conducing  the 
delicate  and  important  duties  of  his  trust  as  to  escape  all  asper- 
sion upon  his  fidelity  to  his  country,  is  almost  without  parallel. 
No  public  man  in  the  history  of  the  country,  —  not  even  Wash- 
ington himself,  —  in  his  own  time,  ever  gained  so  deep  a  hold 
upon  the  affe6lions  of  the  people;  and  this  was  accomplished,  not 
by  any  of  the  tricks  of  a  demagogue,  but  solely  by  his  complete 
devotion  to  the  highest  interests  of  the  nation,  and  his  eminent 
fitness  for  his  post.  Can  the  loss  be  supplied?  We  needed  him 
in  the  future  as  much  as  we  needed  him  in  the  past,  perhaps 
more.  In  the  great  questions  of  reconstru6tion  that  are  now 
coming  before  the  Government,  that  same  cool  judgment  and 
clear  sagacity  are  needed  quite  as  much  as  in  the  conduct  of  the 
war.  The  great  fear  resting  on  the  hearts  of  thoughtful  men, 
after  our  militar}^  triumph  over  the  rebels  was  felt  to  be  assured, 
was,  that  mistakes  might  be  made  in  the  final  settlement  of  our 
national  difficulties,  which  would  lose  us  all  that  we  had  gained, 
and  sow  the  seeds  of  strife  for  years  to  come.  Our  great  reli- 
ance, under  God,  was  in  the  honesty  and  sagacity  of  our  Chief 
Magistrate,  whose  past  success  we  felt  to  be  a  guarantee  for  the 
future.  No  man  can  take  his  place  at  the  head  of  the  government, 
and  inspire  such  confidence  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.     We  fear 


i8o  Death  of  President  Lincoln. 

now,  as  we  look  forward,  lest  in  some  way,  through  official  in- 
competency or  unfaithfulness,  our  recent  triumphs  over  the 
enemy  shall  prove  barren  of  their  expe6ted  fruit  of  blessing  for 
the  nation  and  the  world.  Our  trusty  pilot  is  stricken  down  just 
as  we  are  among  the  rocks  and  shoals  that  line  the  shores  of 
peace,  and  there  is  now  danger  that  we  may  go  down  within  sight 
of  the  desired  haven.  God  in  Heaven  avert  so  dire  a  calamity! 
For  the  sake  of  humanity,  and  for  thy  kingdom's  sake,  save  us 
from  the  evils  of  confusion  and  anarchy!  As  thou  hast  taken 
away  our  Moses,  raise  us  up  a  Joshua  to  lead  us  unto  the  Land  of 
Promise ! 

It  was  no  part  of  my  purpose  to  dwell  at  length  on  the  char- 
a6ler  of  the  President,  or  to  prophesy  the  consequences  that  may 
follow  his  removal.  It  will  be  more  fitting  to  consider  for  a  mo- 
ment some  of  the  lessons  which  this  terrible  event  is  adapted  to 
teach. 

May  we  not  believe,  that  one  part  of  God's  purpose  in  permit- 
ting this  atrocious  crime  was  to  teach  us  still  more  impressively, 
even  than  by  the  events  of  the  past  four  years,  our  entire  depen- 
dence upon  him,  and  to  lead  us  to  place  all  our  hopes  for  the  fu- 
ture in  Heaven  alone.  We  had  learned  this  lesson  partially,  but 
perhaps  not  sufficiently.  Perhaps  we  were  trusting  too  much  in 
the  wisdom  of  the  Government.  Perhaps  there  was  danger,  that 
our  military  triumphs  might  turn  away  our  thoughts  from  God, 
and  that  we  might,  without  some  further  discipline,  return  to  our 
idolatry  of  men  and  human  agency.  Perhaps,  in  the  public  re- 
joicings of  the  last  week,  there  had  been  too  much  thought  of 
the  human  agents  by  whom  our  vi6fories  were  gained,  and  too 
little  recognition  of  the  hand  of  God.  Perhaps  our  reliance  for 
the  future  was  too  much  on  human  wisdom,  and  not  enough  on 
the  God  of  Israel. 

It  has  been  one  of  our  greatest  temptations  to  forget  the  ruler- 


Rev.  L.  S.  Rowland.  i8i 


ship  of  God  in  our  national  affairs.  It  has  been  our  great  sin  as 
a  people,  through  all  the  years  of  our  history.  Our  trials  during 
the  last  four  years  had  done  something  in  teaching  us  the  fragility 
of  reliance  upon  human  wisdom  and  power;  but  perhaps  this 
new  stroke  was  needed  to  impress  the  lesson  ineradicably  upon 
us.  If  our  President  had  been  spared  to  us,  he  might  have  taken 
that  place  in  our  hopes  for  the  future  which  belongs  only  to  God. 
This  support  is  now  taken  from  us,  and  we  must  now  put  our 
trust  in  Heaven  alone.  God  is  a  jealous  God.  He  will  not  give 
his  glory  to  another.  Every  idol  that  interposes  itself  between 
him  and  his  creatures,  he  will  destroy.  How  sad  the  thought, 
that  it  may  have  been  our  excessive  love  and  reverence  for  the 
President,  that  made  it  necessary  for  God  to  suffer  wicked  men 
to  execute  their  deed  of  blood  upon  him! 

May  we  not  believe,  also,  that  it  was  God's  purpose  in  this 
event,  to  bring  out  more  clearly  to  the  view  of  the  world  the 
atrocious  nature  of  that  system  of  iniquity  in  whose  interest  the 
crime  was  committed. 

The  fafts  of  the  case,  as  thus  far  developed,  will  not  warrant 
us  in  charging  this  deed  of  blood  direftly  upon  the  rebel  Govern- 
ment. Perhaps  they  knew  nothing  of  it,  and  would  have  dis- 
countenanced such  a  desperate  deed  if  the  plan  had  been  revealed 
to  them.  But  that  the  crime  is  a  legitimate  result  of  the  cause 
for  which  they  are  contending,  and  that  it  is  in  harmony  with 
their  condu6t  through  the  whole  war,  is  manifest.  We  ought  not 
to  have  been  surprised  that  a  system,  that  could  originate  a  rebel- 
lion against  the  best  government  on  earth,  should  resort  to  any 
means  to  secure  success,  or  to  revenge  defeat.  The  system  of 
slavery  itself  was  "the  sum  of  all  villanies;"  and  why  should  its 
abettors  hesitate  to  assassinate  any  one  whom  they  feared  or 
hated  as  an  enemy  of  their  cause  ?  It  was  in  its  very  nature  a 
system  of  violence,  the  nurse  of  every  deed  of  outrage  and  shame. 


1 82  Death  of  Preside7it  Lincoln. 

It  seems  to  have  been  a  part  of  God's  purpose,  from  the  beginning 
of  this  conflict,  to  exhibit  to  the  gaze  of  the  world  all  the  foul 
enormities  of  the  S3-stem.  It  is  wonderful  how  slow  we  have 
been,  to  heed  the  teachings  of  Providence  in  this  respeft;  how 
blind  the  eyes  even  of  the  people  of  the  North  have  been,  to  this 
monstrous  iniquity.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  we  looked 
upon  its  radical  opponents  as  fanatics  and  madmen.  The  very 
principles  of  the  institution  ought  to  have  fixed  us  in  deadly  hos- 
tility against  it;  but  we  refused  to  look  at  it  m  the  light  of  princi- 
ple, and  were  willing  to  temporize  and  compromise  with  the 
infernal  system.  God  determined,  therefore,  to  use  measures  of 
instru6lion  that  would  be  heeded.  He  permitted  the  upholders 
of  the  S3^stem  to  rend  the  Union  asunder,  and  to  deluge  the  land 
with  blood.  He  gave  our  sons  and  brothers  into  their  hands  to 
be  tortured  and  starved  in  their  prisons.  He  suffered  them  to 
send  their  piratical  ships  out  upon  the  ocean  to  burn  our  shipping, 
and  transform  the  mariner's  signals  of  distress  into  signs  of  warn- 
ing. He  permitted  them  to  send  incendiaries  to  burn  our  cities; 
and  now,  to  impress  the  lesson  still  more  deeply,  he  permits  the 
assassin  to  take  the  life  of  the  first  ofiicer  of  the  Government. 
No  stroke  could  have  been  more  impressive.  Nothing  could 
have  struck  more  deeply.  If  this  crime  does  not  awaken  us  to  a 
sense  of  the  atrocity  of  the  rebellion,  and  of  the  system  which 
originated  it,  nothing  can.  It  was  perhaps  needed  to  fix  the  na- 
tional heart  more  unchangeably  in  its  purpose;  to  root  out  the 
evil,  utterly  and  for  ever;  and  to  lead  even  us  of  the  North  to  a 
deeper  penitence  before  God  for  our  past  complicity  with  the 
gfreat  crime  as^ainst  humanity  and  Heaven.  If  there  is  now  in  the 
lo3^al  North  a  man  who  can  longer  apologize  for  slavery,  let  him 
be  declared  a  reprobate,  lost  to  all  the  feelings  of  humanity,  blind 
to  all  the  teachings  of  God's  providence.  If  there  is  a  man  who 
can  think  of  this  deed  of  blood,  and  find  it  in  his  heart  to  utter 


Rev.  L.  S.  Rowland.  183 


one  word  of  sympathy  for  the  rebellion,  let  him  receive  the  name 
of  traitor,  and  suffer  a  traitor's  doom. 

This  atrocious  crime  will  also,  I  trust,  lead  us  to  see  the  need 
of  greater  sternness  in  dealing  with  traitors.  It  should  awaken 
the  Government  and  the  people  to  the  necessity  of  visiting  upon 
the  originators  of  the  rebellion,  to  which  this  deed  of  assassina- 
tion is  but  a  fitting  accompaniment,  the  severest  penalty  of  the 
law,  if  they  shall  fall  into  our  hands.  An  ill-timed  demand  for 
clemency  on  the  part  of  the  Government  towards  the  rebels  had 
begun  to  pervade  the  public  mind.  Let  no  blood  be  shed;  let  us 
deal  with  the  rebels  as  with  erring  brethren,  —  has  been  the  exhor- 
tation to  the  Government,  of  would-be  philanthropists.  In  the 
generous  exultation  of  vi6tory,  there  was  danger  that  the  claims 
of  war  and  justice  might  be  utterly  forgotten,  and  that  posterity 
might  be  left  to  the  inference  that  treason  against  a  righteous 
government  law  was  not  a  crime  deserving  of  punishment.  We 
needed  some  further  manifestation  of  the  awful  guilt  of  this 
rebellion.  We  needed  some  stroke  of  crime  that  should,  by  its 
atrocity,  startle  us  from  our  gentle  mood.  We  needed  some  devel- 
opment of  the  diabolical  spirit  of  the  rebels,  that  should  force  the 
convi6tion  upon  us  of  the  necessity  of  the  sternest  exercise  of 
retributive  justice,  —  positive  in  our  dealing  with  the  responsible 
authors  of  the  rebellion.  "  Now  let  justice  be  done,"  was  the 
suppressed  utterance  of  all  loyal  men  yesterday,  as,  with  tearful 
eyes,  they  spoke  together  of  our  beloved  Lincoln  lying  in  his 
blood.  That  utterance  was  inspired  by  a  principle  implanted 
within  us  by  the  Creator,  and  its  mandate  should  be  heeded  as 
the  voice  of  God. 

We  read  in  the  Bible  of  a  sin  against  God,  which  can  never 
have  forgiveness,  either  in  this  world  or  in  the  world  to  come. 
If  there  be  a  crime  on  earth  that  stands  in  a  like  relation  to  human 
law,  of  that  crime  have  the  leaders  of  this  rebellion  been  guilty; 


184  Death  of  President  Lincoln. 

and  they  should  find  no  place  for  merc}^,  though  they  seek  it  care- 
fially  and  with  tears.  The  blood  of  our  murdered  President  is 
upon  them. 

Even  if  they  were  not  cognizant  of  the  plan  of  assassination, 
they  should  be  held  accountable  for  the  crime  as  the  legitimate 
issue  of  the  wicked  cause  for  which  they  are  contending.  The 
guilt  of  a  hundred  thousand  murders  is  upon  them.  They  are 
guilty  of  all  the  blood  that  has  been  shed  in  the  course  of  this 
war,  and  of  all  the  evil  which  it  has  brought  upon  the  land;  and 
it  would  be  a  sin  against  humanity,  and  against  high  Heaven,  to 
remit  one  jot  or  tittle  of  the  penalty  they  deserve.  The  blood  of 
our  murdered  President,  and  of  tens  of  thousands  of  our  sons  and 
brothers  who  have  fallen  on  the  field  of  battle,  cries  to  Heaven 
for  justice  upon  the  guilty.  AVe  cannot  disregard  the  cry,  with- 
out making  ourselves  guilty  before  God.  I  encourage  no  spirit 
of  revenge,  no  feeling  of  hatred  toward  our  enemies.  I  simply 
urge  the  claims  of  justice.  I  believe  it  is  one  of  the  lessons 
which  this  event  should  impress  upon  us,  that  they  should  have 
justice  without  mercy  who  have  shown  no  mercy. 

We  look  to  the  future,  my  friends,  with  anxiety.  Our  trusted 
leader  is  gone,  and  we  are  not  sure  that  his  successor  possesses 
the  qualities  required  for  the  discharge  of  such  responsible  du- 
ties. Let  us  put  our  trust  in  God.  He  will  not  suffer  the  cause 
of  righteousness  and  truth  to  fail.  He  will  give  the  needed  guid- 
ance to  our  rulers,  if  vc^e  humbly  ask  it  for  them.  His  hand  will 
guide  us  through  the  perils  that  are  now  before  us,  and  yet  bless 
our  bleeding  land  with  prosperity  and  peace.  In  the  midst  of 
our  sorrow  for  the  murdered  President,  let  us  not  forget  to  pray 
for  him  upon  w^hom  the  duties  of  the  Government  now  devolve. 
He  takes  his  great  responsibility,  he  says,  trusting  in  God.  May 
the  mantle  of  the  departed  Lincoln  fall  upon  him !  May  he  have 
the  wisdom,  firmness,  and  moderation,  which  are  needed  to  guide 


Rev.  L.  S.  How  land. 


185 


the  Ship  of  State  through  its  dangers  into  the  haven  of  peace! 
And  may  the  whole  nation,  taught  by  this  awful  event  the  frailty 
of  human  hopes,  put  its  trust  in  the  God  of  Israel,  and  look  to 
him  as  the  source  of  national  strength  and  prosperity! 

Bangor  Weekly  Courier,  April  25,  1865. 


24 


PRESIDENT    LINCOLN'S    DEATH: 

A   SERMON  DELIVERED   IN   THE   FIRST    PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  NATCHEZ,  MISS., 

ON  SUNDAY,   APRIL   23,    1 865  ; 

BY    REV.   JOS.    B.    STRATTON,    D.D., 

PASTOR   OF    THE    CHURCH. 


Psalms,  xi.  3  :  "  If  the  foundations  be  destroyed,  what  can  the  righteous  do?" 

A  GLANCE  at  the  stru6lure  of  the  Psalm  will  show  that 
David  in  this  passage  is  quoting  the  language  of  some 
party,  supposed  to  be  in  conference  with  him,  —  a  tempter,  we  may 
call  him,  who  is  seeking  by  his  suggestions  to  shake  his  fortitude, 
and  corrupt  his  fidelity,  as  a  servant  of  God.  His  opening 
remark,  "  In  the  Lord  put  I  my  trust,"  is  his  answer  to  these 
suggestions.  "  Wh}^  try  to  overthrow  my  faith,"  he  seems  to 
say,  "  by  revealing  to  me  the  perils  and  calamities  by  which  I  am 
menaced?  Why  try  to  drive  me  into  unbelieving  despondency 
by  arraying  before  me  the  machinations  or  the  triumphs  of 
human  and  satanic  malice.?  Why  tell  me  that  the  wicked  are 
bending  their  bows,  and  making  ready  their  arrows  upon  the 
string,  that  they  may  privily  shoot  at  the  upright  in  heart  ?  Why 
remind  me,  that  the  foundations  are  destroyed;  that  lawlessness 
and  iniquity  abound;  that  social  order  is  broken  up;  that  justice 
is  driven  from  her  tribunals,  and  even  the  majesty  of  Govern- 


Rev.  Jos.  B.  Strattoji,  D.D.  187 

ment  profaned  in  its  san6luary,  and  then  ask  me,  what  can  the 
righteous  do,  and  counsel  me  as  a  helpless  and  abandoned  thing 
to  flee  like  a  bird  to  the  mountain?  My  answer  to  all  this  is,  In 
the  Lord  put  I  my  trust !  " 

The  drift  of  the  query  in  the  text,  by  taking  it  thus  in  connec- 
tion with  the  preceding  part  of  the  Psalm,  may  easily  be  discov- 
ered. Jt  is,  in  fa6t,  no  query  at  all,  but  rather  a  statement,  —  an 
allegation.  It  means  to  declare,  that,  in  the  case  proposed,  —  in 
such  a  conjecture  of  alarming  and  depressing  circumstances  as 
had  been  set  forth, — there  was  absolutely  nothing  for  the  right- 
eous man  to  do.  And  with  his  interlocutor  in  this  conclusion,  the 
Psalmist  joins  issue.  He  maintains  that  there  is  something  for 
the  righteous  man  to  do,  even  when  the  foundations  are  des- 
troyed; and  he  assumes  that  flight,  retreat,  a  resort  to  silence 
and  seclusion,  are  criminal  derelictions  from  his  duty,  —  an  inex- 
cusable failure  to  bear  his  testimony,  and  aft  his  part,  as  a  right- 
eous man.  The  idea  wlrich  seems  to  be  enunciated  in  this  answer 
is,  that  the  righteous  man  or  Christian,  as  such,  has  a  special  work 
to  do,  or  function  to  exercise,  at  every  period  and  in  every  posi- 
tion in  which  he  may  find  himself  placed.  The  idea  is  an 
important  one,  and  I  wish  to  set  it  before  you  this  morning,  with 
all  the  emphasis  that  I  can  give  to  it.  The  righteous  man  or 
Christian  has  that  character  to  exemplify  under  all  possible  cir- 
cumstances. He  can  never  drop  it,  or  suspend  it,  or  compromise 
it.  It  must  appear  in  his  thinking,  his  judging,  his  feeling,  his 
speaking,  and  his  doing.  As  the  Lord's  servant,  his  work  is 
simply  and  exclusively  to  fulfil  his  Lord's  will;  to  be  the  man 
whom  his  Lord  would  have  him  be.  Should  "  the  foundations 
be  destroyed;"  should  his  own  mind  be  driven  from  its  balance 
by  the  onset  of  natural  passion;  should  the  community  with 
which  he  is  identified,  like  a  ship  torn  from  its  moorings  by 
the   rush   of  the   hurricane,  be  swept   wildly  hither   and   thither 


1 88  •      President  L{7icoli{s  Death. 

by  convulsive  excitements,  —  he  must  maintain  his  principle,  hold 
fast  by  his  rule,  and,  like  the  compass  on  that  ship's  deck, 
tranquilly  fulfilling  its  office  amidst  the  tumult  of  the  storm, 
remain  true  to  himself  and  God,  though  ever}^  thing  else  seems 
surrendered  to  turbulence  and  disorganization.  He  must  show 
himself  the  righteous  man,  the  Christian,  though  a  thousand 
impetuous  forces  within  him  and  around  him  are  impelling  him 
to  the  assumption  of  a  different  character.  The  religion,  as  I 
have  a  hundred  times  taught  you,  which  does  not  keep  you 
abiding  in  Christ,  and  Christ  abiding  in  you,  is  no  religion  in  the 
judgment  of  the  gospel.  The  religion  which  does  not  keep  the 
spiritual  branch  steadily  and  permanently  united  to  its  stock; 
which  does  not  evidence  itself,  steadily  and  permanently,  by  phe- 
nomena in  the  life  of  the  soul,  identical  with  those  which  appear  in 
the  life  of  its  divine  Head,  —  is  not  the  religion  which  the  Saviour 
gave  to  his  disciples.  That  religion  contemplates  difficulties  in 
the  pra6tice  of  it;  nay,  is  required  to  establish  its  genuineness 
in  any  case,  by  its  readiness  and  ability  to  sustain  itself  under 
difficulties.  What  else  do  those  two  great  features  in  it,  so 
broadly  delineated  in  the  Scriptures,  —  the  obligation  to  self- 
denial,  and  the  obligation  to  unlikeness  to  the  world,  —  mean?  If 
you  are  not  prepared  and  accustomed  to  deny  self,  to  repress 
the  passions  and  mortify  the  affe6tions  of  the  flesh,  when  these  are 
at  variance  with  the  law  of  Christ;  if  you  are  not  prepared  and 
accustomed  to  difler  from  the  world,  when,  through  sympath}'  and 
complicity  with  it,  you  are  liable  to  be  wrought  into  tempers 
and  urged  into  a6ls  in  confli6l  with  the  law  of  Christ,  —  you  cannot, 
and  do  not,  possess  the  true  spirit  of  his  followers.  That  allows 
no  deviation,  and  no  lapses  in  its  loyalty.  It  acknowledges  him 
as  absolute  and  as  perpetual  master.  It  makes  him  master,  just 
as  truly  when  it  is  hard  to  do  so,  as  when  it  is  easy  to  do  so.  It 
demands  that  the  individual  who  possesses  it,  should  be  uniformly 


Rev.  Jos.  B.  Stratton,  D.D.  "       189 

and  consistently  the  chara6ler  which  the  law  of  Christ  indicates; 
that  in  the  face  of  all  opposition,  originating  in  his  own  nature, 
and  all  springing  from  the  example  or  authority  of  the  world,  and 
even  all  embodied  in  the  wiles  and  assaults  of  the  Devil,  he 
should  prove  himself  the  righteous  man.  We  may  say,  there- 
fore, as  the  Psalmist  has  said,  that,  always  and  everywhere,  there 
is  something  for  the  righteous  man  to  do.  And  we  may  say 
farther,  what  perhaps  is  implied  in  his  saying,  that  especially  in 
those  exigencies  when  the  powers  of  evil  have  reached  such  a 
height  and  compass  in  their  operations  that  the  very  foundations 
of  society  and  government  are  destroyed;  when,  it  might  seem, 
there  was  nothins:  for  Christian  faith  to  do,  but  bow  before  the 
storm,  and  hide  itself,  impotent  and  unheeded,  in  obscurity,  —  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  righteous  man  to  kindle  anew  the  flame  of  his 
faith,  and  strive  by  bolder  eflbrts  than  ever  to  throw  the  light  of 
its  influence  upon  the  gloom  and  confusion  which  are  weltering 
around  him. 

This  principle  I  have  taken  the  pains  to  state  at  this  length, 
because  it  is  under  the  authority  of  it,  that  I  shall  press  upon  your 
consideration  the  remarks  I  am  about  to  make.  These  remarks, 
you  will  probably  have  anticipated,  will  have  reference  to  the 
extraordinary  position  in  which  we  have  been  placed  by  the 
awful  and  astounding  tragedy  at  the  seat  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, which  has  been  announced  to  us  during  the  last  week.  It 
has  seemed  to  me,  that  sacred  as  it  has  been  my  habit  to  keep 
this  pulpit  to  the  promulgation  of  the  stri6l  themes  of  the  gospel, 
and  to  the  exercise  of  the  proper  fun6tion  of  Christ's  ambassadors, 
"  the  beseeching  men  to  be  reconciled  to  God,"  I  was  called  upon 
to-day,  in  view  of  such  an  occurrence,  to  let  the  voice  of  Provi- 
dence propose  my  subje6t,  while  the  aid  of  Scripture  should  be 
invoked  to  give  the  light  under  which  to  view  it. 

The  shock  occasioned  by  the  death  of  the  Chief  Magistrate 


1 90  President  Lincohi's  Death. 

of  the  nation,  under  which  the  public  mind  is  yet  reeHng  in 
bewilderment  and  dismay,  has  left,  I  doubt  not,  wherever  it  has 
spread,  just  that  impression  which  the  Psalmist's  words,  "the 
foundations  are  destroyed,"  describe.  An  earthquake  rending 
the  soil  beneath  our  feet  could  not  have  struck  a  deeper  sensation 
of  horror  into  our  hearts,  or  prostrated  them  with  a  more  pro- 
found feeling  of  calamity.'  The  w^ords  which  reported  to  us  the 
crime  and  its  mournful  issue  broke  upon  us  with  the  stunning 
effect  of  a  thunder-clap.  Their  import  was  too  startling,  too 
appalling,  to  be  credited.  The  "  foundations,"  the  things  familiar 
and  established,  the  ideas,  sentiments,  instinfts,  usages,  and  tradi- 
tions, in  which  we  had  been  accustomed  to  confide,  and  which 
we  thouofht  were  as  stable  as  our  civilization,  and  as  sacred  as 
our  religion,  were  indeed  overturned  by  it.  The  ground  upon 
which  we  had  been  wont  to  stand  seemed  dissolving  under  us. 
Time  and  place  grew  unreal.  Centuries  seemed  to  have  been 
expunged  from  the  calendar  of  the  world's  history,  and  we  were 
rolled  back  into  the  grim  scenery  of  barbaric  lands.  A  vision  of 
ferocious  hate  and  bloody  violence,  such  as  imagination  had 
sometimes  looked  at  in  its  pictures  of  brutal  and  savage  anti- 
quity, stood  revealed  in  our  midst,  as  a  present  and  palpable  fa6t. 
Our  minds  revolted  at  it.  Our  eyes  turned  in  terror  from  it. 
Involuntarily  we  closed  them  with  our  clasped  hands,  and  sought 
thus  to  escape  seeing  the  truth  of  that  which  we  were  forced  to 
confess  we  could  not  make  untrue.  Alas,  no!  With  all  our 
shuddering  aversion  to  see  its  truth,  we  could  not,  we  cannot, 
make  it  untrue.  We  never  can.  To  the  end  of  time,  it  will 
remain  recorded  in  our  national  annals,  that  the  man  who  filled 
the  seat,  and  wore  the  honors  of  the  representative  of  the  sover- 
eignty of  this  great  American  Republic,  perished  under  the  hand 
of  an  assassin.  We  could  not  have  believed  that  such  a  record 
would  ever  darken  and  sadden  those  annals.     We  could  not  have 


Rev.  yos.  B.  Stratto7i,  D.D.  191 


believed  that,  beneath  these  skies  and  on  this  soil,  the  creature 
could  have  breathed,  who  could  have  perpetrated  such  a  deed. 
And  yet,  in  bitter  sorrow  and  shame  we  make  the  confession,  it 
has  been  done.  Others,  my  friends,  will  tell  you  how,  in  their 
judgment,  you  ought  to  feel  and  a6t  in  view  of  such  an  event.  It 
will  be  my  endeavor,  standing  on  the  platform,  and  trying  to 
express  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  to  point  out  to  you  in  a 
few  particulars,  what,  in  my  judgment,  is  the  Christian  way  of 
feeling  and  a6ling  in  view  of  it.  Always  and  'everywhere,  we 
have  seen,  the  righteous  man  has  his  post  to  fill,  and  his  work  to 
do.  He  has  them  Jiei^e  and  now.  The  wide  lament  which  is 
going  up  from  the  nation's  palpitating  heart  —  "The  foundations 
are  destroyed,  the  foundations  are  destroyed!  "  —  calls  upon  him, 
amidst  all  the  tumultuous  excitement  of  the  occasion,  to  main- 
tain his  chara6ler,  and  to  refle6t,  resolve,  and  express  himself 
distinftl}^  as  a  righteous  man. 

Speaking,  then,  from  the  stand-point  occupied  by  such  a  man 
(it  may  seem  almost  superfluous  for  me  to  say  it,  and  yet  I  deem 
it  highl}^  expedient  to  do  so),  I  would  say,  in  the  first  place,  that 
this  a6l  of  assassination  must  be  adjudged  an  unmitigated  and 
gigantic  sin  against  God,  and  as  such  is  to  be  regarded  with 
utter  abhorrence  and  reprobation.  In  this  light,  pre-eminently,  it 
must  present  itself  to  every  Christian  mind.  Its  bearings  upon 
ourselves,  under  the  relations  in  which  we  may  have  stood  per- 
sonally to  the  obje6l  afledfed  by  it,  must  not  be  suffered  to  divert 
our  attention  from  those  which  attach  to  it  in  this  particular 
aspect.  Here  is  a  crime,  an  atrocious,  a  diabolical  crime,  —  an 
outrage  upon  the  majesty  of  God.  It  was  an  exhibition  of  malig- 
nity on  the  part  of  the  doer  of  it,  not  merely  against  his  human 
vi6lim,  but  against  God.  He  was  a  hater  of  God;  and  the 
righteous  man,  with  a  holy  indignation  which  the  Scriptures  have 
taught  him  how  to  express,  can  only  say  of  him,  "  Do  not  I  hate 


192  President  L mcobis  Death. 

them,  O  Lord!  that  hate  thee?  And  am  I  not  grieved  with 
those  that  rise  up  against  thee?  I  hate  them  with  perfeft  hatred: 
I  count  them  mine  enemies!"  There  is  reason  to  fear,  that  our 
hearts  have  grown  callous  under  the  teachings  of  vv^ar,  or  may  be 
so  pre-occupied  by  personal  feeling  of  one  kind  or  another,  that 
we  may  fail  to  be  affe6led  adequately  with  the  enormous  turpi- 
tude of  even  a  deed  of  violence  like  this.  I  beg  you  to  look  at  it, 
therefore,  with  me  in  a  few  of  its  features. 

First,  then,  it  was  murder,  —  murder  conceived,  and,  in  part, 
executed,  upon  a  scale  which  makes  it  a  massacre.  It  was  man 
shedding  man's  blood,  deliberately,  maliciously,  and  illegally. 
Viewed  merely  under  this  aspect,  it  was  an  enormous  sin,  —  a 
sin  which  God  has  branded  with  special  tokens  of  his  detestation, 
and  consigned  to  the  heaviest  penalty  which  human  justice  can 
inflia. 

But,  more  than  this,  it  was  an  impious  invasion  of  the  domain 
of  divine  Providence.  Every  human  life  is  a  sphere  under  the 
administration  of  that  Providence.  But  the  life  of  the  magistrate, 
the  sovereign,  from  the  vaster  scope  of  the  interests  which 
are  comprehended  in  it,  in  a  peculiar  sense,  may  be  said  to  be 
such  a  sphere.  The  life  of  the  magistrate,  the  sovereign,  is 
an  essential  element  in  that  apparatus  by  which  God  mediately 
governs  the  world,  —  an  instrument  upon  whose  agency  is  sus- 
pended the  execution  of  his  policy  concerning  the  world.  It  is 
one  of  those  "  foundations  "  or  pillars,  upon  which  he  has  been 
pleased  to  rest  the  vast  and  complex  scheme  of  his  purposes. 
To  destroy  such  a  life  is  to  contrail  the  guilt  of  a  hardihood 
which  dares  to  cross  the  path  of  Jehovah,  —  to  snatch  the  sceptre 
from  his  hand,  and  violently  reverse  or  confound  his  counsels. 

Again,  it  is  an  aft  which  desecrates,  in  the  most  flagrant  form, 
the  divine  ordinance  of  government.  I  say  the  divine  ordinance 
of  government,  for  with  the  Bible  in  my  hand  I  can  give  no  lower 


Rev.  Jos.  B.  Stratton^  D.D.  193 

chara6ter  to  government.  It  is  a  creature  of  God  as  truly,  and 
almost  in  the  same  sense,  as  man  is.  For  the  attainment  of  all 
worthy  ends  for  which  man  can  be  supposed  to  have  been 
created  is  conditioned  upon  the  existence  of  government.  Now, 
government  as  the  creature  or  ordinance  of  God  is  a  most  sacred 
thing.  It  is  to  be  regarded  with  religious  reverence,  and  ap- 
proached and  transacted  with  with  religious  respe6l.  I  know  this 
idea  has  been  perverted,  has  been  made  the  basis  of  a  "  divine 
right  of  kings,"  and  has  been  carried  among  the  despotisms  of  the 
Old  World  to  the  length  of  denuding  the  people  of  all  political 
rights,  and  making  them  the  mere  property  and  prey  of  their 
sovereigns.  This  abuse  has  received,  or  is  receiving,  its  correc- 
tion, and  may  now  be  considered  obsolete.  But  it  may  well  be 
questioned,  whether  we  in  this  country, -under  our  better  philoso- 
phy, have  not  been  falling  into  an  abuse  in  the  opposite  quarter, 
and  fabricating  a  "  divine  right  of  the  people,"  by  which  Govern- 
ment, as  a  positive  creature  of  God,  has  been  shorn  of  its  rights, 
as  much  as  the  people  were  of  theirs,  under  the  prevalence  of  the 
old  heresy  of  the  "  divine  right  of  kings."  Government,  as  an 
independent,  substantial  fa6l;  a  sacred  thing,  placed  by  God 
amongst  us  and  over  us;  something  different  from  the  people, 
and  the  citizen  and  voter ;  a  priestly  institution,  "  called  of 
God,  as  was  Aaron,"  to  minister  to  our  national  tribes,  and 
bearing  like  him  the  inscription,  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord,"  upon 
its  venerable  brow,  —  has  it  not  come  to  wear  a  common  look, 
to  lose  credit  and  san6lity  in  our  eyes  ?  Have  not  the  arts  of  the 
politician  and  demagogue,  like  the  scissors  of  Delilah,  robbed  it 
of  its  native  prerogative,  and  forced  it,  with  its  eyes  put  out,  to 
employ  its  powers  in  making  sport  for  the  Philistines  of  fa6tion 
and  party  .^  And  may  not  this  oversight,  this  deterioration  of  its 
chara6ler  as  a  divine  ordinance,  have  helped  to  bring  on  the  fear- 
ful convulsion  through  which  we  have  been  passing.?     And  may 

25 


194  President  Lmcolii's  Death. 

it  not  have  had  something  to  do,  in  preparing  the  assassin's  heart 
to  entertain  the  sacrilegious  purpose,  which  we  have  just  seen 
consummated  ?  However  this  may  be,  the  deed  has  been  done. 
God's  ordinance  of  Government  has  been  violated  in  the  person 
of  its  representative;  and,  as  he  has  taught  us  that  his  own  name 
stands  identified  with  all  his  ordinances,  a  fearful  intensity  of  guilt 
must  attach  to  the  a6t. 

Again :  apart  from  the  evil  inherent  in  the  nature  of  it,  such  an 
aft  draws  after  it  a  train  of  appalling  consequences,  for  all  of 
which  the  aft  itself  must  be  responsible.  The  jar  given  to  the 
political  system  by  the  sudden  destru6lion  of  the  party  in  whose 
hands  the  administration  of  it  is  placed,  always  threatens  the 
occurrence,  or  an  approach  to  the  occurrence,  of  general  anarchy. 
A  crisis,  pregnant  quite  possibly  with  issues  fatal  to  the  Govern- 
ment, is  at  once  created  by  it.  How  far  the  ruin  which  shall  fol- 
low the  blow  which  strikes  down  the  sovereign  shall  spread  into 
the  organism  of  the  nation,  no  mind  can  predi6t.  The  madman 
who  resolves  to  give  the  blow,  does  not  know,  —  does  not  care. 
His  malice  is  a  torch,  which,  in  order  to  achieve  its  particular 
aim,  would  recklessly  light  the  fires  which  should  wrap  a  king- 
dom or  a  continent  in  flames.  As  another  result:  his  a6l  is 
adapted  to  start  and  give  fierceness  to  a  spirit  of  revenge  and  a 
process  of  retaliation,  by  which  a  whole  trail  of  crimes  of  the 
same  nature  with  his  own  may  be  entailed  upon  the  land.  God, 
in  his  great  mercy,  has  thus  far  restrained  this  very  natural  conse- 
quence of  the  recent  atrocity;  and  every  Christian  man  and 
woman  ought  to  pray,  that,  of  his  great  mercy,  he  will  continue  to 
do  so.  But  it  is  not  the  fault  of  the  author  of  it,  that  his  devilish 
deed  has  not  evoked  ten  thousand  of  those  devils  which  are  truly 
said  to  lurk  in  every  human  heart,  to  rush  out  upon  a  mission  of 
vengeance.  And  for  this  possible  consequence  of  his  a6t,  he  is 
responsible.     And  once  more:  the  perpetrator  of  such  an  a6l  im- 


Rev.  yos.  B.  Stratton^  D.D.  195 

plicates  the  innocent  in  the  suspicion,  and  exposes  them,  more  or 
less,  to  the  infamy,  of  being  concerned  with  him  in  his  wicked 
enterprise.  Into  the  guU',  in  which  he  drowns  himself,  he  draws 
down  thousands  of  unsuspecting  and  guiltless  neighbors.  The 
secrecy  in  which  he  wraps  his  plot  gives  room  for  this  result.  A 
bewildered  and  excited  public  judge  quickly,  and,  sometimes, 
wildly;  and,  like  people  in  the  dark  when  an  enemy  has  been 
discovered  among  them,  may  charge  every  companion  with  being 
that  enemy.  The  assassin's  motive  may  have  been  a  private  one, 
his  deed  stri6tly  his  own  (I  devoutly  believe,  in  the  case  be- 
fore us,  such  was  the  fa6l)  ;  but  others,  almost  necessarily,  will 
be  burdened  with  the  reproach  of  his  crime,  if  they  do  not  have 
to  suffer  its  literal  penalty. 

Now,  revolving  this  sad  deed,  whose  chara6ler  we  are  con- 
sidering, in  these  various  lights,  how  tremendously  its  guilt  grows 
upon  us!  It  is  all  that  I  have  called  it,  —  an  unmitigated  and 
gigantic  sin  against  God.  So  the  righteous  man  will  regard  it. 
So  every  individual  who  looks  at  it  with  the  eye,  the  mind,  the 
heart,  which  the  religion  of  Christ  gives  him,  will  regard  it.  He 
must  do  so,  or  he  belies  his  chara6ler  and  his  principle;  and 
hence,  he  must  and  will  condemn  it,  and  abhor  it,  and  feel  that 
the  wrath  of  a  just  God  ought  to  pursue  and  punish  it. 

But  the  duty  of  such  a  man  will,  I  think,  lead  him  a  step  fur- 
ther. He  will  find  in  this  horrible  outbreak  of  human  wicked- 
ness an  occasion  that  will  move  him  to  profound  sorrow  and 
humiliation.  He  will  admit  a  feeling  of  mortification  to  his 
heart,  that  will  abase  it  to  the  dust.  Deploring  the  crime,  he  will 
also  deplore  the  fa6t,  that,  in  this  age  and  in  this  land,  such  a 
crime  had  become  possible;  and  that  the  nature  of  mag,  any- 
where, is  capable  of  such  corruption  as  to  make  the  commission 
of  such  a  crime  possible.  You  and  I,  my  friends,  have  turned 
from  it  with  sickening  horror.     Like  the  patriarch,  at  the  thought 


196  President  Lincoln  s  Death. 

of  the  conspirator  and  the  assassin,  we  exclaim,  "O  my  soul! 
come  not  thou  into  their  secret :  unto  their  assembly,  mine 
honor!  be  not  thou  united."  But,  alas!  the  author  of  this  deed 
was  a  man;  and  one  who,  we  have  reason  to  believe,  called  him- 
self an  American.  And  if  it  be  true,,  as  seems  probable,  that  this 
man  and  this  American  was  but  the  agent  of  a  banded  crew  of 
like  spirits,  the  fa6l,  with  an  indefinitely  augmented  force,  meets 
us,  that,  in  our  very  bosom,  men  —  Americans  —  of  this  fiendish 
type  are  to  be  found.  Amidst  our  churches  and  schoolhouses 
and  missionary  institutions,  ministers  of  Satan,  of  the  tallest  stat- 
ure, have  been  growing  up.  It  is  a  fa6t  which  one  might  weep 
over,  —  a  fa6l  which  may  well  make  the  head  of  the  righteous 
man  hang  down,  and  his  heart  sink.  What  an  infernal  thing  is 
human  nature,  when  the  evil  that  is  in  it  has  opportunity  and  en- 
couragement to  mature!  And  how  faint  has  been  the  zeal,  and 
how  feeble  the  efforts,  after  all,  of  the  servants  of  God,  in  the 
attempt  to  check  the  development  of  this  evil  amongst  our  people! 
The  material  still  exists  amongst  us,  it  would  seem  from  these 
indications,  which  would,  if  the  occasion  offered,  convert  our  fair 
land  into  a  volcano  of  crime  and  butchery,  like  France  in  her 
revolution  of  1789.  Hellish  passions  are  working  amongst  us,  it 
would  seem,  which  might,  under  due  stimulus,  so  demonize  the 
mass,  that  assassination  should  become  the  business  of  each  hour, 
and  even  women,  young  and  fair  as  Charlotte  Corday,  be  found 
ready  to  plant  the  dagger  in  the  heart  of  a  personal  or  political 
foe.  Oh!  this  "  destroying  of  the  foundations"  is  a  symptom  which 
calls  solemnly  upon  the  righteous  man,  not  only  to  ask  what  he 
has  to  do,  but  to  refle6l  soberly  upon  what  he  has  done,  —  or, 
rather,  what  he  has  not  done;  to  take  a  more  profound  and  affe6l- 
ing  view  of  the  magnitude  of  the  task  of  rescuing  men  from  the 
domination  of  sin;  and  to  resolve,  with  an  humbling  admission  of 
past   unfaithfulness,  that  the   battle  with   Satan  shall   be  waged 


Rev.  Jos.  B.  Stratton^  D.D.  197 

hereafter  with  an  energy  and  heartiness  akin  to  the  ardor  of 
primitive  apostoHc  consecration.  It  is  time,  my  friends,  that  we 
were  all  learning  that  the-  salvation  of  our  country  depends, 
chiefly  and  ultimately,  upon  the  goodness  of  the  people.  State- 
craft, with  all  its  medicines  and  its  surgery,  cannot  keep  it  alive. 
We  project  our  different  theories  and  policies,  and  then  advocate 
them,  and  argue  for  them,  and  perhaps  fight  over  them,  as  if  the 
existence  of  the  nation  depended  upon  the  adoption  of  just  those 
which  we  favor;  while  the  truth  is,  with  good  habits  and  good 
principles  in  the  people,  the  nation  would  thrive  under  any  one 
of  these  theories  and  policies,  in  nearly  or  quite  the  same  degree. 
Positive  institutions,  governmental  mechanism,  and  political  plat- 
form-building, will  never  keep  a  Republic  ere6l  and  prosperous, 
unless  there  is,  underlying  all,  the  element  of  sound,  right  char- 
a6ter  in  the  people;  and  all  righteous  men  as  they  stand  and  look 
over  the  precipice,  to  the  verge  of  which  we  seem  to  have  been 
dragged,  will  confess  that  it  is  just  in  this  dire6tion  the  work  of 
piety  and  patriotism  which  they  are  to  do  in  the  future  lies.  The 
sorrow  and  humiliation  of  this  hour  point  to  this  work;  and  point 
too  to  the  necessity  of  doing  it,  in  that  convi6tion  of  human 
weakness,  which  couples,  with  every  stroke  of  the  laborer's  hand, 
a  prayer  from  his  heart  to  the  God  of  grace,  that  he  may  "  give 
the  increase." 

But  something  beyond  sorrow  and  humiliation  even,  it  seems 
to  me,  is  included  in  the  emotions  becoming  the  position  in  which 
we  stand.  The  serious  mind,  I  am  persuaded,  will  see  in  it 
cause  for  the  greatest  alarm.  An  enginery  which  is  the  very 
climax  and  embodiment  of  all  lawlessness  has  reared  itself  upon 
our  national  platform.  A  President  of  the  United  States,  —  one 
of  that  august  succession  of  Republican  Rulers,  which,  com- 
mencing with  Washington,  had  run  on  in  auspicious  continuity 
till  it  had  reached  its  sixteenth  link,  has  fallen  under  the   hand  of 


198  President  Lincoln's  Death. 

an  assassin!  Such  an  event  has  in  it  something'  of  the  chara6ler 
of  a  portent.  It  fills  the  heart  with  consternation.  It  strikes  the 
ear  like  the  "Woe,  woe,  woe!"  of  the  Apocalyptic  angel,  and 
the  eye,  like  the  handwriting  on  Belshazzars  walls.  There  is 
a  significance  in  it,  which  good  men  ought  to  ponder  with  fear 
and  trembling.  It  is  the  inauguration  of  a  spirit  and  a  procedure 
which,  in  the  fell  sweep  of  their  operations,  strike  down  every 
bulwark  of  the  Commonwealth's  safety  and  life.  The  death-blow 
that  the  ruffian  deals  his  vi6tim  stabs  to  the  heart  Constitution, 
law,  morals,  liberty,  —  every  thing,  in  fa6l,  which*  is  vital  to  the 
body-politic,  to  society,  and  to  man.  And  yet  this  fiend  of  disor- 
ganization, which  we  thought,  under  our  advanced  civilization, 
and  our  wise  political  philosophy,  had  been  bound  these  many 
years  in  his  infernal  cave,  has  suddenly  appeared  amongst  us,  in 
undiminished  audacity  and  malignity.  This  t3'pe  of  national  de- 
generacy —  this  precursor  of  national  ruin  —  has  emerged  from 
the  abyss,  and  confronted  the  people  of  this  land.  And  what 
should  the  righteous  man  do,  in  view  of  such  a  phenomenon,  but 
confess  and  realize  fairly  its  meaning;  admit  the  crisis  that  it  indi- 
cates; and,  under  a  solemn  sense  of  the  imminency  of  the  danger 
involved  in  it,  rally  the  powers  of  public  virtue  and  good  citizen- 
ship everywhere,  to  aid  him  in  arresting  the  country  in  its  prog- 
ress towards  licentiousness  and  dissolution.^ 

And  then,  in  the  next  place,  is  there  not  a  call  addressed  to 
the  righteous  man,  by  this  national  calamity,  to  apply  to  himself 
the  rebuke  —  apparently  contained  in  it  —  for  the  popular  dispo- 
sition to  connect  the  expectation  of  success  with,  and  ascribe  the 
glory  of  success  to,  the  wisdom  of  man,  rather  than  God  ?  The 
principle  which  the  Bible  teaches  us  to  recognize  in  the  afl:airs  of 
nations,  as  well  as  of  men,  is  (to  use  the  Psalmist's  beautiful 
words)  this:  "Except  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they  labor  in  vain 
that  build  it:  except  the  Lord  keep  the  city,  the  watchman  waketh 


Rev.  yos.  B.  Strallony  D.D.  199 

but  in  vain."  It  is  possible,  clearly,  to  have  a  confidence  in  our- 
selves or  others,  which  docs  amount  to  a  repudiation  of  all  de- 
pendence upon  God.  We  see,  or  w^e  make  exemplifications  of  it 
ever}^  da}'.  And,  w^henever  this  is  the  case,  the  Bible  principle, 
just  stated,  vv^arns  us  that  our  spirit  is  construed  by  God,  as  an 
expression  of  hostility  to  himself  Now^,  shall  I  err  in  the  con- 
je6lure,  that  this  strange,  this  appalling  "  destroying  of  the  foun- 
dations," wrought  though  it  has  been  by  wicked  hands,  has  been 
suffered  to  befall  us,  in  part  at  least,  to  remind  us  as  a  people, 
that  our  spirit  has  reached  this  interdicted  point?  The  man,  who 
from  his  position,  more  remarkably  perhaps  than  any  one  who 
has  lived  within  our  day,  had  come  to  verify  the  figure  of  "  a  pil- 
lar of  the  State;  "  upon  whom,  at  the  moment  the  whole  people, 
with  one  hearty  consent,  were  resting  the  entire  weight  of  their 
interests  and  their  hopes;  who,  in  a  long  and  arduous  struggle, 
had  achieved  such  results  as  seemed  to  prove  him  competent  to 
achieve  all  else  that  needed  to  be  done,  with  infallible  success, — 
is  suddenly  cut  down,  and  his  earthly  work  closed.  Oh,  does  it 
not  seem  as  if  there  were  a  voice  in. such  a  providence,  saying  in 
tones  of  thunder,  "  Cease  ye  from  man,  whose  breath  is  in  his 
nostrils!  I  am  the  Lord,  and  my  glory  will  I  not  give  to  an- 
other"? Does  it  not  seem  as  i-f  such  a  rebuke  indicated  such  a 
fault,  as  the  precise  mark  at  which  it  had  been  levelled  ?  As  if  it 
were  meant,  beyond  a  doubt,  to  startle  the  nation  into  a  sense  of 
its  undutiful  and  offensive  bearing  towards  God,  in  its  habitual 
adulation  of  itself;  its  magnifying  of  its  own  resources;  its  chart- 
ing out  its  own  future,  as  if  its  destiny  were  in  its  own  hands; 
and  its  almost  deifying  its  own  institutions  and  men?  The  right- 
eous man,  as  he  sits  awe-struck  and  subdued  to-day,  I  am  sure, 
will  feel  that  there  is  serious  ground  to  think  so;  and,  over  the 
shattered  column  of  his  country's  —  perhaps  —  idolatrous  trust,  will 
try  to  accept  for  himself  and  others  the  admonition  to   maintain 


200  Presidenl  LincobCs  Death. 

henceforth,  between  the  Creator  and  his  creature,  that  just  rela- 
tion and  proportion  which  cannot  be  denied,  without  affront  to 
the  majesty  of  the  former. 

And  then,  following  upon  this,  is  there  not  a  ground,  which 
the  righteous  man  with  his  scriptural  perceptions  may  discover, 
for  hope  for  a  better  and  a  healthier  day  for  the  country,  by  rea- 
son of  the  very  fa6t  of  its  present  affli6tions  ?  When  the  founda- 
tions were  destroyed,  and  the  tempter  would  urge  the  Psalmist  to 
despondency,  and  a  desertion  of  his  faith  in  government  and  soci- 
ety, he  makes  his  answer,  "  In  the  Lord  put  I  my  trust."  If  faith 
in  human  means  and  dependencies  has  been  checked  by  this 
great  national  exigency,  faith  in  the  Lord  has  been  challenged 
and  encouraged  by  it.  "  Whom  the  Lord  loveth,  he  chasteneth," 
may  be  applied,  I  presume,  as  well  to  communities  as  to  individ- 
uals. The  Father's  stroke  that  has  wrath  in  the  manner  of  it  has 
mercy  in  the  design  of  it;  and  the  smartings  which  the  wrath 
occasions,  are  intended  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  offices  of 
mercy.  The  Christian,  at  least,  will  so  reason,  and  will  look 
through  and  beyond  this  dark  da}^,  and  cheer  himself  with  the 
prospe6t  of  sunshine  and  repose  again.  The  Lord  reigneth,  and 
can  make  the  wrath  of  man  and  of  devils  to  praise  him,  and  to 
work  out  his  benevolent  desisfns  towards  those  who  fear  him.  A 
harsh  school  we  have  been  passing  through,  and  a  strange  pro- 
cess of  trial  has  been  allotted  to  us  at  the  end;  but  is  it  not  all 
meant  to  make  us  a  wiser  and  a  better  people  ?  Is  it  not  all 
proof,  that  God  has  a  ministry  for  us  to  fulfil  yet  in  the  world, 
and  would  educate  us  for  it?  Are  not  the  very  pains  he  takes 
to  keep  us  from  forsaking  him,  to  bring  us  to  an  humbler  and 
deeper  acknowledgment  of  him,  evidence  that  he  has  not  for- 
saken us? 

And  once  more:   in  confirmation  of  this  hope,  may  I   not  re- 
mark, that,  to  the  righteous  man,  God,  through  the  instrumentality 


Rev.  jfos.  B.  Straiton,  D.D.  201 

of  this  fearful  catastrophe  which  we  are  deploring,  is  holding  out 
inducements  and  persuasives  to  aid  in  the  restoration  of  that  unity 
of  heart  and  feeling,  which  is  so  sorely  needed  in  the  land? 
Where  is  the  righteous  man  who  does  not  find  his  state  of  heart 
and  feeling,  in  view  of  this  catastrophe,  re/leHed  in  every  one  of 
his  class  ?  Righteous  men  —  if  we  mean  by  this  term  no  more 
than  right-thinking  and  right-judging  men  —  must  be  alike  in 
their  sentiments  here;  and  alike  too  in  the  depth  and  vehemence 
of  their  sentiments.  However  much  divided  they  may  have 
been  on  other  points;  however  hard  they  may  have  found  it  to 
come  together  on  other  grounds, — they  are  at  one  here.  Sympathy 
has  fused  their  minds  into  harmony  here.  Bending  together  over 
the  bleeding  body  of  the  Head  of  the  nation,  —  a  body  made 
sacred,  I  may  sa}^,  without  irreverence,  by  the  sacredness  of  the 
symbols  it  wore,  and  the  office  it  represented,  —  there  can  be  no 
more  discord  between  righteous  men.  Heart  must  beat  with 
heart,  and  feeling  must  melt  into  feeling,  here.  In  the  crucible  of 
a  common  sorrow,  a  common  indignation,  a  common  prostration 
of  soul  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  animosities  must  dissolve 
and  disappear.  Righteous  men,  everywhere,  will  say  it  ought 
to  be  so,  —  it  must  be  so.  And  righteous  men  will  thus  begin  to 
knit  again  the  dissevered  threads  of  national  concord  and  frater- 
nal amity,  and  unite  on  the  spot  where  the  san6tity  and  dignity 
of  the  Government  received  the  stain  of  the  assassin's  desecrating 
blow,  to  build  up,  in  a  new  fabric  of  popular  virtue  and  religion, 
the  true  monument  of  the  country's  glory.  Such  shocks,  sending 
such  wide-spread  and  such  accordant  emotions  throughout  the 
^and,  cannot  be  meant  for  nothing.  They  are  meant  to  leaven, 
to  impregnate,  the  whole  mass,  with  a  common  influence  and  a 
common  inspiration.  They  are  meant  to  throw  thought,  feeling, 
temper,  —  life  itself,  I  may  say,  in  one  word,  —  into  a  new  and 
common  channel. 

26 


202  President  Lincoln^s  Death. 

Oh !  surely,  on  this  solemn  occasion,  my  friends,  I  may  ask  you 
all,  if  the  time  has  not  come,  when  Ephraim  should  no  longer 
vex  Judah,  nor  Judah  Ephraim?  Behold  to  what  we  have  come! 
Behold  the  horrid  apparition  which  has  suddenly  started  forth 
upon  the  canvas  of  our  country's  history!  behold  a  blood- 
stained monster,  reeking  with  the  ferocious  passions  of  the  dark 
ages,  striding  across  this  Christian,  American  soil!  behold  the 
sad  chapter  which  these  last  few^  days  have  added  to  those  public 
annals  whose  opening  pages  our  fathers'  glorious  deeds  had  made 
so  bright,  —  and  see  to  zvhat  we  have  come !  And  whither^  by 
these  tokens,  are  we  likely  to  go,  if  w^e  give  ourselves  up  to 
blindness  and  infatuation?  God  has  shown  us  what  prodigies 
of  w^ickedness,  what  enormities  in  crime,  may  be  generated  in 
the  heated  air  of  civil  strife;  and  he  has  shown  it  to  us,  —  I  would 
persuade  myself,  —  that  he  may  constrain  us  to  stop,  and  3'ield 
ourselves  to  his  healing  monitions.  And  is  it  not  time?  Oh!  my 
countrymen  —  my  fellow-Christians  —  is  it  not  tiipe?  Is  it  not 
time  for  the  minister  of  God  to  rush  in,  with  the  censor  of  gospel 
love  in  his  hand,  and,  standing  between  the  living  and  the  dead, 
plead  for  the  staying  of  the  plague?  Is  it  not  time  for  all  contests 
among  us  to  cease,  but  those  of  peaceful  enterprise  and  honorable 
ambition  ?  Is  it  not  time  for  all  strife  to  be  suspended,  but  that 
holy  form  of  it  in  which  we  shall  provoke  one  another  only  "  to 
love  and  good  works"?  Is  it  not  time  that  our  war- wasted  and 
war-shattered  land  should  at  last  have  her  sabbath's  rest?  Is  it 
not  time  that  those  illustrious  shades,  —  the  fathers  and  sages  of 
our  country,  whose  fame  is  the  heritage  of  us  all,  —  who,  during 
these  years  of  fraternal  discord,  have  hovered  about  the  halls  of 
the  Capitol,  with  their  heads  drooped,  and  their  pale  hands  veil- 
ing the  eyes  which  would  not  look  out  into  the  atmosphere,  dark- 
ened by  the  smoke  of  battle-fields,  where  their  children  were 
shedding  one  another's  blood,  —  is  it  not  time,  that  the   tidings 


Rev.  Jos.  B.  Stratton,  D.D.  203 

of  peace  and  reconciliation  should  come  to  throw  radiance  upon 
those  clouded  faces,  and  lift  again  those  drooping  heads,  and  kin- 
dle again  the  light  of  hope  and  jo}^  in  those  veiled  eyes  ?  Is  it 
not  time,  that  we,  their  degenerate  offspring,  should  come  to- 
gether, with  softened  and  penitent  hearts,  to  receive  the  benedic- 
tion w^hich  their  shadowy  arms  are  stretching  out  to  give  us? 
Oh!  it  seems  to  me,  the  righteous  man,  the  righteous  woman, 
everywhere,  will  cry  out,  "  Yes,  yes !  as  God  whom  we  serve, 
and  in  w^hom  we  trust,  and  to  whom  w^e  have  been  taught  to  say, 
in  every  matter,  ^  Thy  will,  not  ours,  be  done,'  —  as  he  shall  offer 
us  peace,  we  will  accept  it!  His  terms  shall  be  our  terms!  His 
way  shall  be  that  which  we  will  choose!  and,  in  humble  depend- 
ence upon  his  blessing  to  come  with  the  peace  he  gives  us,  we 
will  henceforth  drop  the  instruments  of  w^ar  from  our  hands,  and 
drive  the  spirit  of  war  from  our  hearts!" 

Oh !  for  a  vi6tory  —  a  surrender  —  like  this,  all  over  the  land ! 
May  the  Spirit  of  God  achieve  it!  and  follow  it  with  other  vic- 
tories and  surrenders,  until  iniquity,  in  all  its  forms,  and  wherever 
it  lurks  in  the  corruptions  of  Government,  Church,  or  people,  shall 
disappear  before  the  power  of  the  religion  of  Jesus;  and,  on  our 
broad  territories,  shall  break  the  dawning  splendor  of  that  long 
day  of  righteousness,  beneath  the  dome  of  whose  benignant  sky 
the  regenerated  earth  shall  enter  into  its  millennial  rest! 

Courier,  Natchez,  Miss.,  May  6,  1865. 


THE   DEATH    OF   THE   PRESIDENT: 


A    SERMON    DELIVERED    IN    WILMINGTON,    DELAWARE,    APRIL    l6,    1865  ; 

BY   REV.  ABIEL   SILVER. 


John  xi.  35  :  "Jesus  wept." 

JESUS  wept;  and  well  may  man  weep.  Jesus,  who  had  never 
sinned,  wept  at  the  tomb  of  poor  Lazarus.  Yes,  a  human 
nature  like  ours,  moved  to  compassion  by  the  merciful  Spirit  of 
God,  could  weep.  The  sympathies  of  the  assumed  humanity,  in 
their  connexion  with  the  divine  love  of  our  heavenl}^  Father, 
could  feel  for  the  distresses  of  mankind.  That  assumed  finite  na- 
ture was  so  filled  with  the  Father's  tender  mercies  as  to  weep 
with  the  sorrowing  sister  of  Lazarus,  and  the  weeping  Jews  who 
were  present. 

This  a6l  of  the  Lord  is  a  high  and  holy  example  for  us  to  fol- 
low in  tender  emotions  for  the  afflicted.  And  what  heart  that  is 
worthy  a  home  in  our  beloved  country  cannot  join  with  the  mul- 
titude in  mingling  his  sorrows  and  tears  with  the  general  flood  on 
the  present  mournful  occasion? 

This  day  a  nation  weeps.  This  day  has  been  set  apart  by  our 
Government,  in  order  that  all  the  people  of  the  United  States 
who  love  the  country  and  its  free  institutions,  —  all  who  are  loyal 
to  the  Government,  and  rejoice  at  the  downfall  of  the  rebellion, — 
all  who   appreciate   the   noble,  self-sacrificing,  and   patriotic  ser- 


Rev.  Abiel  Silver.  205 


vices  of  our  late  beloved  President,  may  meet  to  express  their 
united  sorrow  for  his  departure;  their  sympathy  with  the  bereaved 
family,  with  the  Government,  and  with  one  another;  and  to  mingle 
their  prayers  in  a  united  offering  to  our  heavenly  Father,  for  the 
continuance  of  his  merciful  providence  over  us  as  a  nation,  and 
for  the  final  restoration  of  order  and  peace  to  our  bleeding  coun- 
try, in  accordance  with  the  divine  will  and  wisdom,  and  for  the 
best  good  of  the  people. 

About  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-two  years  ago  last  Friday, 
the  body  of  our  Lord,  which  he  assumed  in  this  world,  was  cru- 
cified by  the  very  people  whom  he  had  come  to  bless  and  save. 
It  was  put  to  death  by  wicked  hands,  which  were  cruelly  raised 
against  their  best  friend.  And  the  anniversary  of  that  appalling 
event  has  since  been  kept  by  the  Christian  Church  as  a  day  of 
humiliation,  fasting,  and  prayer.  On  last  Friday,  April  14,  1865, 
the  body  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  kind  and  forgiving  President 
of  the  United  States,  was  put  to  death  by  the  vile  hands  of  a  foul 
assassin,  who  took  the  life  of  the  best  friend  which  such  traitors 
to  our  country  had,  or  could  reasonably  expe6l  to  have,  in  this 
world.  And  long  will  that  day  be  remembered,  and  its  anniver- 
sary be  noted,  as  the  day  when  the  good  President  died  a  martyr 
to  the  pure  principles  of  justice,  and  the  best  rights  of  humanity. 

Last  Saturday,  which  is  called  Holy  Satiu^day.,  because  it  is 
the  anniversary  of  the  day  when  the  Lord  was  in  the  sepulchre, 
was  also  the  day  when  Mr.  Lincoln  lay  entombed  in  the  appar- 
ently dead  body  before  his  resurreftion.  And  a  most  gloomy 
day  it  was.  Who  that  witnessed  it  in  this  country  can  forget 
the  morning  of  April  15,  1865,  as  the  startling  intelligence  passed 
from  mind  to  mind.  How  the  hearts  of  men  sank  within  them, 
as  the  faltering  voice  and  tearful  eye  declared  the  sad  event! 
And  how  soon  the  trembling  hands  and  sorrowing  hearts  spon- 
taneously expressed  their  grief,  by  draping  their  residences  and 


2o6  The  DcatJi  of  the  President. 

the  flag  of  their  country  in  the  deepest  mourning!  And,  to  add 
to  the  gloom,  the  sun  himself  seemed  to  withhold  his  shining. 
Clouds  overshadowed  the  earth;  and  Nature  herself  wept,  ming- 
ling her  tears  with  those  of  the  people. 

Thus  passed  last  Saturday.  But,  on  Sunday  morning,  the 
natural  scenery  was  changed.  The  sun  rose  clear  and  bright, 
removing  some  of  the  gloom  from  material  things,  and  casting 
his  hopeful  beams  upon  the  habiliments  of  mourning.  This 
bright  Sunday  was  the  anniversary  of  the  day  when  our  Lord 
arose  from  the  sepulchre,  surprising  and  making  glad  the  hearts 
of  his  disciples.  And  last  Sunday  was,  no  doubt,  the  day  when 
Mr.  Lincoln  rose  from  the  tomb  of  the  body  into  the  spiritual 
world.  Thus  he  has  passed  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death  unhurt.  He  experienced  no  pain  in  the  exchange  of  worlds. 
It  is  not  probable  that  he  was  conscious  of  being  hurt,  or  that  he 
knew  that  his  body  was  destroyed  until  after  he  had  left  it. 
Shocking,  therefore,  as  the  event  was,  it  is  a  consolation  to  know 
that  he  had  none  of  the  pains  and  struggles  of  a  lingering  or  con- 
vulsive death;  and  that  he  is  now  in  the  bright  and  cheerful 
world,  in  a  substantial  spiritual  bod}',  w^ith  all  his  kind  affe6lions, 
memor}^,  and  knowledge;  that  all  who  have  loved  him  for  his 
good,  honest,  patriotic,  and  benevolent  qualities  can  love  him 
still;  that  he  is  not  lost  to  us:  our  hearts  and  minds  can  follow 
him  home.  Those  of  good  hearts,  who  familiarly  knew  him  and 
loved  him,  are  not  separated  from  him  by  means  of  his  putting 
off  the  body. 

All  minds  imbued  with  good  and  true  principles  are,  to  the 
extent  of  those  principles,  united  to  one  another,  particularly  if 
they  are  acquainted,  and  love  the  good  qualities  of  one  another. 
And,  when  one  of  them  puts  off  the  natural  body,  it  does  not  de- 
stroy that  spiritual  union,  nor  the  influence  which  they  may  have 
upon  each  other.     The  nation,  therefore,  has  not  lost  Mr.  Lincoln, 


Rev.  A biel  Silver.  207 


nor  all  his  salutary  influence  in  the  matters  of  justice  and  right- 
eousness. Mind  can  flow  into  and  afte6l  mind.  But  his  influence 
will  now  be  a  silent  one;  and  those  aftefted  by  him  will  probably 
not  be  at  all  conscious  that  their  thoughts  are  any  other  than  en- 
tirely their  own,  though  they  may  be  conscious  that  they  are 
changing  their  views  and  feelings  somewhat. 

But  the  great  powers  and  responsibilities  of  the  Chief  Magis- 
trate of  the  nation  are  now  removed  from  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  are 
placed  upon  Mr.  Johnson.  And,  so  far  as  their  peculiarities  of 
mind  differ  as  to  measures  and  policy,  so  far  their  administrations 
will  be  unlike.  But,  in  view  of  the  operations  of  the  divine  Pro- 
vidence, we  cannot  suppose  that  this  change  of  presidents  will 
prove  detrimental  to  the  people  or  the  country.  Nobly  has  Mr. 
Lincoln  managed  the  Ship  of  State  upon  the  stormy  billows  of 
rebellion's  raging  sea  for  the  last  four  years;  and  joyously  did  he 
see  the  fury  of  the  storm  subsiding,  and  the  way  opening  for 
peace.  Steadily  has  the  hand  of  Providence  led  him,  step  by 
step,  in  a  way  to  break  the  shackles  of  slavery,  and  subdue  the 
rebellion.  This  having,  with  great  prudence  and  kind  forbear- 
ance, been  accomplished,  a  wise  Providence  has  permitted  him  to 
be  removed,  and  another  man  to  take  the  helm.  For,  as  the 
winds  and  waves  of  rebellion  subside,  other  storms  will  arise  as 
the  ship  enters  upon  the  sea  of  reconstru6lion,  —  storms  which 
may  require  a  very  different  captain,  in  order  to  bring  her  safely 
into  the  sure  haven  of  permanent  union  and  peace. 

The  dire6l  providence  of  God  has  not  removed  Mr.  Lincoln. 
The  assassination  was  a  dire6l  violation  of  God's  law.  God, 
therefore,  did  not  order  it,  nor  require  it  at  the  hands  of  the 
wretch.  But  as  murder  was  in  the  heart  of  the  villain,  God  per- 
mitted him  to  execute  it  against  the  divine  law,  because  he  saw 
through  all  the  events  of  the  future,  whether  Mr.  Lincoln  should 
remain  or  depart.     It  is,  therefore,  undoubtedly  for  the  best,  that 


2o8  The  DeatJi  of  the  Preside^tt. 

there  be  a  change  of  chief  magistrates.  For,  had  it  not  been  so, 
the  murder  would  not  have  been  permitted  by  the  Lord. 

For  thouo^h  it  was  in  the  heart  of  the  assassin  to  kill  the  Presi- 
dent,  3'et  the  Lord  could  have  prevented  it.  Not  by  changing 
the  heait  of  the  assassin,  —  for  that  could  be  done  only  by  repent- 
ance, in  which  the  assassin  must  exercise  his  own  freedom;  and 
that  repentance  he  was  not  in  a  state  to  exercise.  But  the  Lord 
could  have  withheld  from  him  the  power  or  strength  to  commit 
the  deed;  for  our  life,  and  power  to  a6l,  either  right  or  wrong,  are 
constantly  given  us,  and  we  are  free  to  do  which  we  please.  So 
that  God's  withholding  the  physical  ability  to  commit  the  deed 
would  not  have  changed  the  disposition  of  the  murderer. 

While,  therefore,  the  assassin  must  suffer  the  penalty  due  to 
his  crime,  for  he  was  free  to  do  it  or  not,  yet  we  must  remember, 
that  the  merciful  Lord  permitted  no  injur}'  whatever  to  be  done 
to  Mr.  Lincoln.  He  had  finished  his  work  on  earth,  and  has 
gone  home.  He  is  better  otf  than  he  would  be  here.  He  cannot 
desire  to  come  back.  It  is  indeed  a  gain  to  him.  The  assassin 
is  the  only  real  sufferer.  The  famil}^  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  their 
natural  feelings,  suffer;  but  it  may  prove  a  real  blessing  even  to 
them,  by  uniting  them  more  closely  with  the  spiritual  world,  and 
enabling  and  disposing  them  the  better  to  prepare  for  it.  It  may 
be  the  very  thing  they  most  need.  God  knows  what  is  best  for 
us,  and  he  always  has  eternal  ends  in  view. 

In  all  this  view,  how  conspicuous  is  the  mercy  and  goodness 
of  our  heavenly  Father,  who  can  thus  bring  good  out  of  evil,  and 
make  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him! 

Yet  the  murderer  should  be  arrested,  and  put  to  death,  be- 
cause he  is  not  fit  to  live  among  men  in  this  world.  He  is  an 
injury  to  all  minds  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact.  And  it 
would  be  good  for  him  to  be  removed  into  the  other  world,  where 
he  will  be  governed  by  th»  divine  law,  and  suffer  no  more  than 


Rev.  Abie  I  Silver.  209 


the  just  penalty  due  to  his  sins.  And  that  he  must  suffer,  not  by 
arbitrary  infliction,  but  by  a  universal  law  of  God.  For  all  suffer- 
ing in  the  spiritual  world  is  the  just  consequence  of  the  state  of 
the  sufferers'  hearts;  and  their  sufferings  restrain  them  from  de- 
scending into  deeper  evils,  and  are  therefore  mercies. 

While,  therefore,  it  is  no  injury  to  those  who  are  guilty  of 
crimes  deserving  capital  punishment  to  infli6l  it,  yet  it  greatly 
promotes  the  order,  peace,  and  safety  of  society  on  earth  to  re- 
move such  persons  to  the  spiritual  world.' 

The  work  of  these  assassins  has  opened  a  new  view  of  the 
rebellion's  chara6ter,  and  brought  it  before  us  in  a  new  aspe6t. 
It  has  aroused  the  people  to  new  a6lion,  and  prompted  a  new 
spirit  of  investigation;  and  all  this  was,  no  doubt,  necessary,  in 
order  to  know  more  of  the  qualities  of  men,  that  we  might  be  the 
better  prepared  to  properly  settle  the  difficulties  which  are  before 
us,  so  as  to  avoid  future  troubles. 

The  real  weeping,  then,  which  our  text  calls  for,  is  for  the 
depravity  of  the  nation,  and  the  dreadful  crimes  which  many  are 
committing,  and  have  committed,  and  the  awful  consequences 
w^hich   follow. 

True,  we  weep  for  the  loss  of  Mr.  Lincoln  from  among  us  in 
the  ffesh.  His  kind  voice  is  heard  no  more,  and  there  is  appar- 
ently a  great  blank  in  the  nation,  and  we  weep  with  the  affli6ted 
family.  All  this  is  natural;  and  it  is  good  for  us  to  give  vent  to 
our  natural  sympathies,  and  "  weep  with  those  who  weep."  But 
when,  in  the  spiritual  light  of  the  Word,  we  rise  above  the  sen- 
sational sphere  of  the  natural  man,  into  the  sphere  of  the  angels, 
we  weep  only  over  the  depravity,  the  evils,  and  the  consequent 
suffering,  of  fallen  humanity;  and  we  pray  for  a  better  state  of 
things.  It  is  for  these  evils  that  the  angels  weep  and  pray.  And 
while  we  pity  the  hardened  culprit,  and  would  be  glad  to  see  him 
returning  penitent  to  his  God,  yet    for    such    conscience-seared 

27 


2IO  The  Death  of  the  President. 

wretches  there  is  but  little  hope  of  improvement;  and  it  is  our 
duty  to  bring  them  to  justice,  and  put  an  end  to  their  infernal 
career  on  earth. 

Seeing,  then,  the  condition  of  our  country,  and  the  work  that  is 
before  us  under  the  new  state  of  things;  feeling  assured  that  the 
heavenly  Father  has  not  permitted  our  late  beloved  Chief  Magis- 
trate to  be  thus  suddenly  removed  from  this  world  but  for  some 
great  end,  —  let  us  all  look  well  to  it  that  we  may  know  and  do 
our  duty  to  our  country,  by  leaning  upon  and  following  the  lead- 
ings of  divine  Providence  in  detecting  criminals,  and  punishing 
offenders  who  cannot  be  brought  to  repentance. 

Thus  let  us  labor  and  pray  for  the  restoration  of  the  Union,  by 
a  union  of  minds  upon  the  great  principles  of  justice  and  right- 
eousness, universally  extended  to  the  prote6tion  and  improvement 
of  all  the  people;  that  the  sentiments  expressed  in  the  glorious 
flag  of  our  countr}^  may  fill  the  heart  of  every  citizen,  and  go  forth 
in  praises  from  every  mouth. 

It  is  meet  and  proper,  on  this  occasion,  thus  to  inquire  what 
the  event  means,  and  why  it  has  been  permitted.  And  to  this 
subje6l  the  vast  mind  of  the  nation  is  this  day  emphatically  called. 
And  may  God  in  his  infinite  justice  and  mercy  enable  us  as  a  peo- 
ple calmly  to  contemplate,  and  clearly  to  see,  the  duties  that  are 
before  us,  that  we  may  be  neither  too  severe  nor  too  lax  in  the 
execution  of  the  law;  that  justice  and  mercy  may  blend  together, 
and  righteousness  and  peace  may  become  the  eternal  fruits  of  the 
tree  of  liberty! 

Such  are  the  thoughts  which  the  occasion  naturally  suggests ; 
and  though  we  are  in  the  solemnities  of  a  funeral,  at  which  the 
nation  weeps,  draped  in  the  habiliments  of  sorrow,  yet  it  is  right 
to  seek  wisdom  even  in  the  midst  of  tears. 

We  can  do  the  departed  no  good.  His  merciful  and  generous 
soul  has  gone  behind  the  curtain  of  time,  to  the  enjoyments  and 


Rev.  Abiel  Silver.  211 


uses  of  a  higher  life;  while  we  are  left  behind,  with  solemn  and 
important  duties  yet  to  do  in  this  world.  And  the  event  calls 
upon  us  loudly  to  do  them. 

In  him  we  have  the  example  of  noble  patriotism,  of  self-sacri- 
ficing devotion  to  the  Union,  of  tender  sympathy  for  suffering 
humanity  everywhere,  and  of  impartial  regard  for  the  just  rights 
of  every  individual.  Yes,  in  him  we  have  these  heavenly  quali- 
ties, worthy  of  all  imitation.  May  we  so  follow  them  as  to  be 
able  to  meet  him  in  the  world  to  come! 


Ne-w-Jerusalem  Messenger,  N.  1".,  April  29,  1865. 


EASTER     SUNDAY: 

A   DISCOURSE  DELIVERED   IN    ST.  JOHN'S    EPISCOPAL   CHURCH,    LOUISVILLE,    KY., 

ON   SUNDAY,    APRIL    1 6,    1S65  ; 

BY    REV.  J.  J.    TALBOTT,    RECTOR. 


IT  was  matter  of  the  deepest  regret,  that  the  most  solemn  Fast 
of  the  Church  should  have  been  a  day  of  public  rejoicing;  and 
it  is  equally  matter  of  regret,  that  now^  the  most  joyous  Feast  of 
the  Church  should  be  a  day  of  public  mourning. 

The  unvarying  custom  of  the  Church,  the  suggestions  of  the 
lessons,  and,  indeed,  the  entire  spirit  of  the  service  for  this  day, 
require  that  the  subjeft  of  our  Lord's  resurredlion  shall  be  the 
topic  of  discourse,  and  the  subje6l  of  our  meditations.  But  v^hile 
the  Church  stands  forth  in  her  highest  festival,  sings  her  most 
exultant  songs,  and  w^ears  the  badge  of  her  highest  rejoicing,  an 
event  transpires  v^hich  seems  to  hush  the  psean  on  her  lips,  and 
change  her  jubilate  to  her  miserere. 

A  terrible  calamity  has  befallen  the  nation;  and  the  strongest 
heart  stands  still,  appalled  and  stricken  in  the  presence  of  this 
overw^helming  visitation.  The  ordinary  course  of  things  w^ill  not 
satisfy.  The  theme,  which  else  had  possessed  for  your  ears  a 
charming  interest,  is  now  utterly  powerless  to  excite  your  atten- 
tion, or  call  off  your  thoughts  from  the  all-engrossing  subjeft. 
There   is  a  weight  on  the  public  heart.     There  is  that  undefined 


Rev.  y.  y.  Talbott.  213 


feeling,  which  is  half  dread  of  the  future,  half  regret  for  the  past. 
Every  man  feels  as  if  some  terrible  storm  was  gathering,  some 
calamity  impending;  and  no  man  knows  what  to  do,  or  where  to 
look  for  refuge  and  safety. 

The  telegraph  brings  the  startling  intelligence  that  the  Presi- 
dent is  dead^  dead !  and  by  the  hands  of  an  assassin;  and  the  first 
officer  of  the  Government  lies  stricken  in  his  bed,  weak  and 
helpless  from  his  recent  wounds.  Had  they  died,  or  had  thrice 
the  number  of  our  great  men  died,  by  some  visitation  of  God,  it 
had  not  cast  such  a  gloorn  over  the  land ;  but  that  the  very  Head 
of  the  nation,  the  man  upon  whom  all  eyes  were  turned,  should 
perish  as  he  has,  at  the  time  that  he  has,  is  something  so  awful  to 
contemplate,  that  it  is  no  marvel  that  rtien  stand  aghast  in  veiy 
impotence,  stunned  and  shocked  as  if  smitten  by  a  thunderbolt 
from  heaven.  Just  at  this  auspicious  hour,  when  a  vision  of 
peace  was  haunting  our  troubled  dreams;  when,  on  war's  horrid 
front,  a  white-winged  angel  uplifted  his  banner  between  contend- 
ing hosts,  and  waved  back  with  either  wing  the  tide  of  death  and 
slaughter,  —  oh,  it  is  sad,  that  an  assassin's  arm  should  mar  it,  that 
all  this  blessed  prospect  should  be  dimmed  and  soiled  with  blood! 
— just  when  all  eyes  were  turned  to  him,  and  the  nation  held  its 
breath,  waiting  to  hear  from  his  lips,  words  which  would  be 
equivalent  to  all  end  of  war  and  the  dawn  of  peace;  just  when. 
North  and  South,  all  over  the  land,  the  cry  of  a  devoted,  stricken 
people,  scourged,  chastened  and  afflicted,  came  pouring  into  his 
ears;  just  when  he  was  bending  to  listen, — just  then,  alas! 
his  ear  can  hear  no  more,  his  lips  are  mute,  and  can  give  no 
cheering  answer. 

In  the  presence  of  this  fearful  fa6l;  with  this  stupor,  chaining 
our  thoughts  and  a6tions,  upon  us;  overwhelmed  with  ultimate 
hope  and  fear  and  dread,  —  what  are  we  to  do  ?  One  thing  we 
are  to  do,  if  nothing  else:    we  are  to  lay  our  hands   upon   our 


2  14  Easter  Sunday. 


mouths,  and  our  mouths  in  the  dust,  and  for  the  nation,  and  for 
ourselves,  we  are  to  cry.  Unclean,  unclean! 

Never  before  in  the  history  of  the  nation  was  there  a  time 
when,  more  than  now,  the  spirit  of  moderation  should  rule  in  our 
hearts,  di6late  the  words  of  our  lips,  and  guide  and  condu6t 
our  actions. 

In  the  first  tidings  of  such  an  event  as  this,  if  we  do  not  lay  a 
heavy  hand  upon  our  hearts,  and  crush  back  whatever  wrong 
emotion  may  swell  within  us,  just  so  surel}^  will  we,  by  the  ter- 
rible influence  of  uncontrolled  passion,  rush  into  sin.  Hasty, 
impetuous,  inconsiderate  words  will  burn  upon  our  lips,  and 
feuds  will  be  started  which  generations  may  not  heal.  Crimina- 
tion will  do  no  good.  It  will  not  benefit  the  dead,  and  will  only 
harm  the  living.  Let  us  learn  from  his  pale  lips,  dead,  what  they 
would  have  taught  us  living,  —  calmness  and  moderation.  The 
bitterest  accusation  cannot  restore  the  dead.  He  is  gone,  and 
nothing  is  left  but  the  deathless  memory  of  his  deeds.  He  can- 
not hear  our  flatteries:  he  is  unmindful,  if  we  traduce  him.  He 
is  beyond  the  reach  of  human  praise,  outside  the  pale  of  human 
censure.  His  high  destiny  is  ended,  his  mission  accomplished; 
and,  whether  for  weal  or  woe,  his  name  and  influence  will  abide 
with  this  nation  for  ever. 

I  am  here  speaking  of  this  great  man,  not  to  praise  or  to 
blame;  to  lay  neither  eulogy  nor  obloquy,  neither  flowers  nor 
thorns,  upon  his  coffin.  This  is  neither  the  time  nor  the  place  for 
this.  But,  while  you  gather  around  his  grave,  I  would  have  you 
still  the  storm  within  you,  and  bid  all  bitterness,  and  ever}^  thought 
of  vengeance,  go  hide  in  his  grave.  I  tell  you,  the  highest, 
noblest  ti-ibute  you  can  pay  to  his  memory  is  to  forget  how  he 
died,  in  the  fa6t  that  he  is  dead.  For,  if  he  be  the  man  we  have 
been  told  he  was;  if  he  was  a6tuated  by  the  simple  purpose  of 
his  country's  good,  —  then  he  would  have  died,  willingly  died,  if. 


Rev.  y.  y.  Talbott.  215 


as  he  went  to  his  grave,  he  could  have  taken  from  the  hearts  of 
the  American  people  the  malice  and  anger  and  bitterness  and 
vengeance  which  are  there,  and  left,  in  their  place,  calmness  and 
the  spirit  of  brotherly  love  and  forbearance,  the  spirit  of  modera- 
tion and  forgiveness. 

Do  not,  then,  let  his  death  increase  this  evil.  Rather  let  it 
sound  a  truce  to  the  long,  dark  reign  of  these  evil  passions;  and 
let  the  form  of  the  dead  President  be  the  commanding  presence 
w^hich  shall  banish  them  for  ever.  While  you  give  your  tears  to 
the  dead,  do  not  learn  the  more  to  hate  the  living.  Remember 
your  country.  I  appeal  from  the  murdered  President  to  the 
bleeding  land;  and,  while  you  pay  your  duteous  honors  to  the  one, 
do  not  forget  your  duty  to  the  other.  Be  calm;  dispassionately 
consider  all  things;  and,  whatever  conclusion  you  may  reach, 
strengthen  it  by  moderation.  Do  not  discuss  this  sorrowful 
theme  in  hasty,  angry  sentences.  Be  silent,  until  reason  resumes 
her  sway,  and  you  are  free  from  the  excitement  and  bias  of  this 
first  intelligence. 

I  should  not  depart  from  my  unvarying  custom  to  introduce 
this  matter  here,  but  that  I  love  you,  and  would  save  you  from  the 
violence  of  your  own  feelings.  I  am  here  unimpassioned,  what- 
ever I  may  be  elsewhere,  without  feeling  or  purpose,  save  to  try 
and  keep  out  of  your  hearts  the  bitterness  which  this  event  is  so 
calculated  to  excite.  Only  reflect  that  it  can  do  no  good,  and  it 
must  do  much  harm.  And,  no  matter  how  your  execrations  may 
follow  the  assassin  into  the  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth,  do  not 
let  them  go  beyond  him.  Let  this  be  their  limit.  Let  human 
justice  be  done,  and  then  leave  him  with  his  God.  "  Vengeance 
is  mine;  I  will  repay,  saith  the  Lord." 

When  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  from  the  sacred  Olivet,  ascended 
to  heaven,  he  spread  forth  his  hands,  and  this  is  his  benison  upon 
us:  "Peace  I  leave  with  you:   my  peace  I  give  unto  you!"     The 


2 1 6  Easter  Stmday. 


last  words,  and  doubtless  the  last  thoughts,  of  the  President  were 
of  peace.  God  Almighty  grant  that  the  blessing  he  shall  leave 
behind  him,  as  his  enduring  monument,  as  his  deathless  glory, 
shall  be  peace  to  this  war-worn  nation !  If  this  shall  be  the  fruit 
of  his  labors,  the  priceless  value  of  his  life,  then  o'er  his  grave 
will  shine  a  light  more  glorious  than  the  grandeur  of  empire, 
or  the  pomp  of  power,  —  the  splendor  of  his  country's  power 
refle6led  upon  his  tomb. 

Brethren,  if  3^ou  loved  the  dead;  if  you  still  love  the  living;  if 
you  love  our  country,  the  land  of  your  birth;  if  you  love  and  long 
for  the  time  when  Peace  shall  spread  her  white  wings  over  us, 
and  under  them  a  united  people  shall  sing  the  songs  of  a  better 
day,  and  mingle  in  fellowship  and  brotherly  love,  —  then  let  the 
thoughts  of  your  hearts  be  buried  with  the  dead,  and  the  spirit  of 
calm  moderation  and  kindness  guide  and  control  you  in  this  try- 
ing hour.  Let  the  memory  of  your  own  dead  come  from  the 
waste  of  years,  and  soften  your  roused  hearts,  and  subdue  your 
complaining  spirits.  Go,  ask  of  the  dark  day  which  marked  the 
committal  of  your  kindred  dust  unto  dust,  and  ashes  to  ashes, 
what  was  the  lesson  of  death!  When  we  stand  by  the  open 
grave,  it  is  no  time  to  stir  up  the  resentment  of  your  hearts. 

I  bid  you  remember,  that  through  the  grave  lies  the  journey 
to  that  God  who  claims  vengeance  as  his  own,  and  bids  you 
avenge  not  yourselves,  but  rather  give  place  unto  wrath.  Let 
this  impress  you.  I  bid  you  remember,  that  through  the  grave 
lies  the  journey  to  that  bar  at  w^hich  you  and  I  must  stand,  beg- 
ging that  vengeance  may  be  stayed,  and  that  mercy  may  uplift 
her  aegis,  and  shield  us  from  justice.  Oh!  then,  standing  by  the 
grave  of  the  great  and  noble  dead,  remember  that  coming  hour, 
and  be  taught  its  lesson. 

Come  to  the  table  of  the  blessed  Lamb.  In  the  high  agony 
of  the    cross,   he   prayed   a    blessing  upon   his   murderers!      His 


Rev.  y.  y.  Talbott. 


217 


blood  is  the  reconciliation.  Here  is  the  emblem  of.  the  erreatest 
suffering  and  the  greatest  wrongs,  borne  with  the  highest  possi- 
ble patience,  and  best  conceivable  meekness  and  spirit.  Come, 
then,  eat  this  food,  drink  this  blood.  It  will  strengthen  you  to 
put  under  your  feet  this  temptation  to  sin,  and  make  you  more 
than  conquerors  in  the  sublime  victory  of  faith  over  self. 


Daily  Union  Press,  Louisville.  Ky.,  April  19,  1865. 


28 


NATIONAL    HUMILIATION: 

A  SERMON  PREACHED  ON '  THE  LATE  FAST  DAY,  JUNE  I,  1S65,  AT  THE 
CHURCH  OF  THE  ATONEMENT,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA.  ; 

BY   REV.   BENJAMIN   WATSON,  D.D.,    RECTOR. 


2  Sam.  xxiii.  3,  4:  "The  God  of  Israel  said,  the  Rock  of  Israel  spake  to  me,  He  that 
ruleth  over  men  must  be  just,  ruling  in  the  fear  of  God.  And  he  shall  be  as  the  light 
of  the  morning  when  the  sun  riseth,  even  a  morning  without  clouds ;  as  the  tender 
grass  springing  out  of  the  earth  by  clear  shining  after  rain." 

IT  is  befitting  that  we  should  meet  together  this  day.  Amidst 
the  sublime  and  terrible  events  of  the  day,  —  events  terrible 
in  their  sublimity,  and  sublime  in  their  terribleness,  —  it  is  meet 
that  we  should  stand  with  uncovered  heads,  and  look  up  to  that 
heaven  w^here  He  dwells  who  sits  upon  the  throne,  and  judges 
righteously.  It  is  meet  that,  turning  from  all  the  accidents  and 
phenomena  of  events,  we  should  recognize  and  contemplate  that 
Hand  which  shapeth  all  things  according  to  its  will,  and  holds  in 
its  control  the  destinies  of  nations  and  of  men.  It  is  meet  that 
there  should  be  a  day  consecrated  for  us  —  and  which  will  be 
memorable  through  all  coming  time  —  to  the  outpouring  of  a  na- 
tion's sorrow;  to  the  commemoration  of  the  virtues  of  him  for 
whom  we  mourn,  and  to  lay  to  heart  the  lessons  which  Supreme 
Wisdom  and  Righteousness  is  teaching  us  by  his  dealings. 

Ours  are  no  affected  tears  of  grief.     The  stroke  that  fell  upon 
us  only  a  few  weeks  ago  is  still  too  fresh   in   its   smart  to   allow 


Rev.  Benjamin  Watson.,  D.D.  219 

this  day  of  public  mourning  to  be  either  formal  or  heartless.  If, 
for  a  moment,  it  subsides  amidst  the  busy  and  crowding  scenes 
of  the  present,  we  have  but  to  touch  the  chords  of  our  hearts  with 
that  sacred  and  venerable  name  —  the  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
—  to  make  them  vibrate  through  all  our  frames,  and  awaken  anew 
the  sorrow  and  terror  which  crushed  us  all,  when  the  sad  intelli-  * 
gence  flashed  upon  us,  that  he  who  bore  it,  our  high  and  illustri- 
ous Chief,  was  dead. 

Gather  we  then  again  to-day,  as  it  were,  around  his  bier.  We 
surround  ourselves  afresh  with  the  signs  of  woe  which  then  over- 
spread the  land.  We  hear  once  more  the  voice  of  wailing  and 
lamentation;  and  behold  the  mourners  as  they  go  about  the 
streets,  and  bear  his  body  to  its  burial. 

The  grave  has  indeed  closed  upon  him;  but  he  is  buried,  not 
alone  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  but  in  the  bosoms  of  the  people 
that  he  ruled;  and  there  they  will  ever  bring  fresh  flowers  to 
adorn  his  tomb,  —  the  flowers  of  afte6lion,  and  of  loving  sorrow 
that  he  is  no  more.  He  is  gone  from  among  us ;  the  judgment  of 
the  Lord,  which  is  "  true  and  righteous  altogether,"  has  removed 
him  from  our  sight:  but  he  still  lives  in  the  virtues  that  adorned 
his  life;  in  the  works  that  he  has  wrought;  in  the  memorial  that 
will  be  raised  up  (ever,  we  trust,  to  remain) ;  in  the  regeneration, 
in  part  at  least,  b}^  that  life  and  those  deeds,  of  the  nation's  char- 
after,  and  in  the  higher  exaltation  of  its  destiny. 

Many  heroes  have  fallen,  many  great  ones  have  been  taken 
from  us,  but  we  have  never  seen  —  the  world  has  never  seen  — 
such  a  day  as  this;  when,  in  all  the  homes  of  a  great  land,  there 
will  be  felt  a  mourning  "as  if  for  an  only  son;"  when  in  all  its 
temples  one  voice  will  go  up,  of  heartfelt  bewailing  for  the  sins 
which  made  such  a  judgment  necessary,  of  tearful  remembrance 
for  the  dead,  and  of  grateful  thanksgiving  that  such  a  life  was  lent 
us,  to  do  its  work,  and  to  shed  forth  its  light. 


2  20  National  Humiliation. 


Is  it  for  the  departure  of  a  great  statesman  that  we  mourn,  and 
make  our  solemn  confessions  to  Almighty  God?  Is  it  that  a 
Chief  Magistrate  of  our  Republic  was  cut  off  in  the  midst  of  his 
honors  and  his  work?  For  these,  indeed;  but  not  for  these  alone. 
Rather,  because  the  friend  and  father  of  his  people  has  been  slain, 
and  left  them  as  bereaved  children  around  his  tomb.  It  was  not 
pride  in  lofty  genius  that  was  humbled  in  that  stroke.  It  was 
not  confidence  in  eminent  leadership  that  was  tried  by  it.  But  it 
was  atie6tion,  evoked  by  all  that  was  generous  and  wise  and  pa- 
tient in  a  life  that  a  nation  called  its  own,  and  which  was  conse- 
crated to  its  welfare.  Nothing  but  wounded  affection  could  have 
drawn  forth  such  tears  from  eyes  all  unused  to  weep.  A  voice 
which  comes  to  us  from  a  foreign  land  is  but  the  echo  of  a  uni- 
versal one  at  home,  "That  man  has  lived  himself  wonderfully  into 
my  heart."  The  mourning  of  America  for  her  Chief  is  only  such 
as  could  be  called  out  by  that  sublime  devotion  to  his  country, 
which  we  know  as  patriotism,  —  a  word  of  whose  true  use  we 
had  almost  lost  sight  till  he  arose;  who,  casting  away  all  selfish- 
ness, embarked  himself,  with  all  the  powers  of  head  and  heart 
that  God  had  given  him,  in  his  country's  cause,  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  that  high  pledge  of  duty  which,  before  God  and  men,  he 
had  pronounced. 

Born  in  lowliness,  and  reared  amidst  the  rude  blasts  of  adver- 
sity, this  man  had  just  such  a  training  as  fitted  him  for  the -place 
and  the  crisis  he  was  to  fill.  A  more  refined  life,  or  one  more 
absorbed  in  intelle6f:ual  pursuits,  might  have  enervated  too  much 
a  frame  upon  which  such  gigantic  labors  were  to  be  imposed.  A 
gentler  birth  and  rearing  might  have  equally  unfitted  him  for  that 
peculiar  position  which  he  assumed  as  the  peoples  representative. 
A  previous  condition  more  elevated  and  commanding  might  have 
unfitted  him  for  becoming,  as  he  was,  the  popular  mouth-piece ; 
following,  rather  than  leading,  sentiment;   himself  taking   shape 


Rev.  Benjamin  Watson^  D.D.  221 

from,  rather  than  giving  shape  to,  the  popular  mind  and  will:  but, 
when  he  had  received  it,  giving  it  that  expression  in  words  which 
is  ever  the  mark  of  genius ;  saying  that  which  all  felt,  when  said, 
they  might  have  said  as  well  as  he,  but  which  a  common  mind 
never  could:  for  his  was  an  intelle6t,  if  not  of  the  highest  order, 
yet,  as  we  now  look  back  upon  it,  truly  great.  See  how  his 
utterances  stand  out,  stamped  with  his  own  pure  individuality. 
In  all  of  them,  there  was  nothing  re-echoed  of  other  men;  nothing 
commonplace;  no  mere  platitudes,  conveyed  in  pompous  terms, 
such  as  too  often  form  the  staple  of  our  public  deliverances.  His 
words  went  right  to  the  mark,  as  winged  arrows.  With  him, 
logic  was  almost  an  intuition;  his  thoughts  naturally  arranging 
themselves  with  the  clearness  and  compa6tness  of  a  syllogism. 
Just  such  a  mind  he  had,  as,  with  strong  native  powers,  had  grown 
through  its  own  unaided  efforts,  by  self-revolving  thought,  and  by 
the  massing  within  itself  of  its  own  strong  convictions.  We  can 
fancy  this  mind  ever  educating  itself;  bringing  into  form  and 
order,  and  strengthening,  what  God  had  given  it,  or  when  he  plied 
the  oar,  or  swung  the  axe,  or,  admitted  to  the  councils  of  his  fel- 
lows, labored  for  the  truth,  and  by  patient  effort  sought  after  it  till 
he  found  it.  By  such  training,  not  so  much  in  books,  as  through 
patient  thought,  and  deeply  wrought  convi6lion,  he  reached  that 
culture  which,  through  four  long  years,  gave  us  so  much  senten- 
tious wisdom  and  practical  truth,  and  which  flowered  at  length  in 
that  second  Inaugural,  which  men  abroad  have  st3ded  the  finest 
State-paper  that  was  ever  written,  and  some  of  whose  sentences 
are  worthy  to  be  copied  in  gold,  and  emblazoned  on  every  temple 
of  liberty,  and  every  house  of  justice,  throughout  the  world. 

But  such  a  mind  as  his  could  never  be  separated  from  his 
moral  qualities.  They  helped  to  make  the  intellect.  One  may 
be  a  great  poet,  though  a  bad  man.  He  may  be  an  acute  and 
profound  philosopher.     But  he  whose   intelle6tual  greatness   lies 


222  National  Humiliation. 

mainly  in  his  judgment,  in  his  pra6lical  wisdom,  and  in  his  per- 
sonal power  with  men,  must  have  moral  qualities  of  the  highest 
order.  And  so,  in  the  chara6ler  of  this  man,  we  find  the  calmest 
integrity,  the  most  transparent  sincerity,  temperance,  and  right- 
eousness, patience  unbounded,  the  fortitude  and  gentleness  of 
woman.  From  first  to  last,  in  that  career  which  came  so  con- 
spicuously before  the  world,  there  was  nothing  in  which  even  his 
enemies  could  say  that  he  was  mean  or  crooked  or  unjust  or 
hard  or  selfish.  And,  as  these  were  religion  practised.,  so,  in  all 
the  documents  issuing  from  his  pen,  we  find  it  expressed ;  there 
being  hardly  one  of  them  in  which  we  do  not  discern  the  declara- 
tion of  his  dependence  upon  God,  and  the  recognition  of  his  ob- 
ligation to  him.  We  are  not  surprised,  therefore,  to  learn  that  he 
was  a  man  of  daily  prayer  and  perusal  of  God's  Word;  we  are 
not  surprised  to  be  informed  that  such  convictions  had  found  their 
true  centre  in  the  cross  of  Christ.  For  four  years  he  stood  the 
foremost  man  in  all  the  nation  before  the  public  eye,  before  the 
eye  of  the  world;  yet  in  all  that  time  nothing  could  be  found  that 
would  arraign  the  conclusion,  that  he  was  what  "  the  Rock  of 
Israel  "  so  long  ago  declared  a  ruler  should  be,  —  "just,  and  ruling 
in  the  fear  of  God."  Is  this  the  language  of  mere  eulogy?  It 
seems  like  it.  But  you  know  that  it  is  not.  Whatever  might 
have  been  his  policy,  in  which  some  may  have  differed  from  him, 
and  even  in  that  the  logic  of  events  has  brought  us  to  see  that 
what  we  might  have  thought  error  was  the  highest  truth,  in  the 
spirit  with  which  he  ruled,  we  cannot  detect  the  slightest  flaw;  so 
that  to  him  is  justly  applicable  the  praise  of  Divine  Wisdom: 
"  He  shall  be  as  the  light  of  the  morning  when  the  sun  riseth, 
even  a  morning  without  clouds;  as  the  tender  grass  springing  out 
of  the  earth  by  clear  shining  after  rain,"  —  a  pure,  unbroken  light; 
a  verdure  bright  and  fresh.  If  this  were  the  judgment  of  America 
alone,  we  might  think  it  partial  and  overdrawn.     But  when,  even 


Rev.  Benjamin  Waison,  D.D.  i22i 

in  the  great  cities  of  the  Old  World,  men  stopped  their  business, 
and  held  their  breath  at  his  cruel  assassination,  —  and  then  only 
relieved  themselves  by  the  utterance  and  re-utterance  of  his  dis- 
tinguished merits,  asserting  that  no  event  in  history  had  called 
forth  such  deep  and  genuine  feeling,  —  we  may  well  believe 
that  it  was  so;  that  in  the  man  that  we  have  lost  there  was  an  as- 
semblage of  virtues  which  rarely  falls  to  the  lot  of  rulers,  and  in 
whose  possession  immortality  is  secured.  And  when  Americans 
venture  to  name  him  with  Washington,  —  that  hitherto  unap- 
proachable name  to  us,  —  we  see  the  height  to  which  their  estima- 
tion of  him  has  reached,  a  height  from  which  we  cannot  perceive 
that  he  will  ever  descend.  Washington,  the  first  in  his  country 
born  ;  Lincoln,  the  first  in  his  country  new-bom,  regenerated  in  a 
purer  life,  and  for  a  nobler  destiny.  All  that  I  would  say  is  so 
well,  though  at  times  roughly,  expressed  by  one  who  was  afore- 
time his  detractor,  whose  wit  and  sarcasm  are  world-wide  in  their 
reputation,  that  I  cannot  forbear  repeating  it  here :  — 

"Mj  shallow  judgment  I  had  learnt  to  rue, 
Noting  how  to  occasion's  height  he  rose ; 
How  his  quaint  wit  made  home-truth  seem  more  true ; 
How,  iron-like,  his  temper  grew  by  blows  ; 

How  humble,  3'et  how  hopeful  he  could  be ; 

How  in  good  fortune  and  in  ill  the  same : 
Nor  bitter  in  success,  nor  boastful,  he. 

Thirsty  for  gold,  nor  feverish  for  fame. 

He  went  about  his  work  —  such  work  as  few 

Ever  had  laid  on  head  and  heart  and  hand  — 
As  one  who  knows  where  there's  a  task  to  do, 

Man's  honest  will  must  Heaven's  good  grace  command  ; 

Who  trusts  the  strength  will  with  the  burden  grow; 

That  God  makes  instruments  to  work  his  will, 
If  but  that  will  we  can  arrive  to  know, 

Nor  tamper  with  the  weights  of  good  and  ill. 

So  he  went  forth  to  battle,  on  the  side 

That  he  felt  clear  was  Liberty's  and  Right's  ; 
As  in  his  pleasant  boyhood  he  had  plied 

His  warfare  with  rude  Nature's  thwarting  mights,  — 


2  2  4  National  Hiimiliation. 


The  uncleared  forest,  the  unbroken  soil, 

The  iron  bark  that  turns  the  lumberer's  axe, 
The  rapid  that  o'erbears  the  boatman's  toil, 

The  prairie,  hiding  the  marked  wanderer's  tracks, 

The  ambushed  Indian,  and  the  prowling  bear,  — 
Such  were  the  deeds  that  helped  his  ^outh  to  train. 

Rough  culture  :  but  such  trees  large  fruit  maj  bear, 
If  but  their  stocks  be  of  right  girth  and  grain. 

So  he  grew  up,  a  destined  work  to  do, 

And  lived  to  do  it :  four  long,  suffering  years' 
Ill-fate,  ill-feeling,  ill-report,  lived  through : 

And  then  he  heard  the  hisses,  changed  to  cheers, 

The  taunts  to  tribute,  the  abuse  to  praise. 

And  took  both  with  the  same  unwavering  mood ; 
Till,  as  he  came  on  light,  from  darkling  days, 

And  seemed  to  touch  the  goal  from  where  he  stood, 

A  felon  hand,  between  the  goal  and  him, 

Reached  from  behind  his  back,  a  trigger  prest,  — 
And  those  perplexed  and  patient  eves  were  dim, 

Those  gaunt,  long-laboring  limbs  were  laid  to  rest. 

The  words  of  mercy  were  upon  his  lips. 

Forgiveness  in  his  heart  and  on  his  pen. 
When  this  vile  murderer  brought  swift  eclipse 

To  thoughts  of  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men. 

• 

The  Old  World  and  the  New,  from  sea  to  sea, 

Utter  one  voice  of  sympathy  and  shame ! 
Sore  heart,  so  stopped,  when  it  at  last  beat  high ! 
■    Sad  life,  cut  short  just  as  its  triumph  came ! 

A  deed  accursed  !     Strokes  have  been  struck  before 

By  the  assassin's  hand,  whereof  men  doubt 
If  more  of  honor  or  disgrace  they  bore; 

But  thy  foul  crime,  like  Cain's,  stands  darkly  out." 

Such  a  man  did  God  give  us  in  these  last  days  of  the  Repub- 
lic, reviving  in  him  all  the  virtues  of  its  earliest.  And  for  what? 
Ay,  for  what?  Only  that  he  might  accomplish  that  great  work 
to  which  he  was  called,  and  which  he  so  successfully  finished? 
Was  his  mission  fulfilled,  when,  his  designs  for  his  country  all 
secured,  he  laid  down  his  life,  a  martyr  to  truth,  to  liberty,  to 
duty?     Great  and   enduring  as  were  his   services;  glorious  as  is 


Rev.  Benjainin  Watson^  D.D.  225 

the  fame  which  he  earned  thereby;  entitled,  as  he  is,  to  the  high- 
est homage  and  deepest  affeftion  of  the  nation,  on  their  account, 
—  the  record  of  his  high  commission  runs  out  still  farther,  and  is 
even  now  in  force  and  at  work. 

There  are  some  men  who  seem  so  to  stand  out  from  others,  in 
the  dignity  of  their  chara6ter,  that  they  become  almost  unap- 
proachable, and,  to  that  extent,  lose  their  power  over  us,  as 
models  and  examples.  Such  an  one  was  St.  Paul,  in  most  of  the 
features  of  his  chara6ler.  Such  an  one  was  Washington,  who, 
whether  in  his  own  proper  life,  or  in  that  halo  which  distance  and 
history  have  thrown  around  it,  seems  raised  upon  a  pedestal, 
rather  for  the  veneration  and  admiration  of  his  countrymen,  than 
for  their  imitation.  His  is  a  hallowed  name,  placed  high  —  the 
highest  for  us,  and  perhaps  for  the  world  —  on  the  list  of  heroes, 
there  ever  to  remain  as  the  impersonation  of  all  that  was  pure 
and  great  and  good  in  the  patriot  and  the  ruler.  But  not  so  with 
this  latest  of  departed  heroes.  No  majestic  form  or  dignified 
mien  removed  him  from  familiar  intercourse  with  his  fellows. 
To  the  humblest  citizen,  even  to  the  child,  he  was  approachable. 
*And  so  with  his  virtues  and  his  greatness.  They  were  so  set 
round  with  the  common  traits  of  man,  so  intermingled  with 
homely  speech  and  proverb,  that  all  felt  he  was  a  man  like  them- 
selves, not  one  whit  removed  from  or  above  them,  save  as  his 
office  and  his  charafter  lifted  him  up  perforce.  There  seemed  to 
be  nothing  about  him  in  all  those  merits  which  were  his  pecu- 
liarly, that  all  could  not  imitate,  and  follow  in  his  steps.  Almost 
alone  of  distinguished  men,  this  was  his.  Not  grave  and  re- 
served, as  were  Washington  and  Washington's  great  prototype, 
William  of  Orange,  who,  like  our  martyred  President,  fell  the 
vi6tim  of  an  assassin's  rage;  not  lordly  and  commanding  in  his 
bearing,  as  was  Wellington,  —  but  a  simple  man  among  men,  telling 
them  his  thoughts  in  familiar  speech;  mingling  freely  with  them; 

29 


2  26  National  Humiliation. 


trusting  them,  and  knowing  them  as  the  source  of  power,  and  not 
deeming  himself  the  object  of  regard,  other  than  that  to  which 
his  high  office  entitled  him.  Such  a  man,  and  such  a  ruler,  there- 
fore, was  eminentl}^  fitted  for  a  pattern,  at  once  an  example  and 
an  encouragement  for  others.  And  this,  apart  from  the  great 
services  which  he  rendered  his  country,  is,  I  take  it,  the  mission 
of  his  life  for  all  coming  time.  And  for  this,  God  allowed  that 
tragic  end  to  be  his  fate;  by  it  sealing  up  in  one  moment  his 
career,  shining  then  in  its  full  meridian  glory,  and  in  it  embalming 
his  memory  beyond  the  reach  of  corruption  or  decay.  And  so 
he  stands,  crowned  with  that  glorious  apotheosis,  a  simple  man, 
but  adorned  with  every  grace  that  could  render  a  ruler  profitable 
to  men  and  approved  of  God.  And  he,  for  generations  to  come, 
will  be  America's  type  ruler.  They  that  fall  short  of  him  w^ill 
so  far  fall  short  of  her  ideal;  they  that  reach  him,  or  resemble 
him,  will  become  the  inheritors,  in  their  degree,  of  his  high 
praise.  Lordly  airs,  courtly  assumption,  royal  aping,  will  be  dis- 
gusting, —  as  they  ought  to  be,  in  this  land  of  freedom  and  equal- 
ity, the  rising  star  now  more  than  ever  of  liberty  to  the  world; 
but  faith,  truth,  justice,  meekness,  gentleness,  generosity,  patience, 
integrity,  fortitude,  —  these  will  be  the  points  that  men  will  look 
for,  and,  finding,  appreciate  and  applaud.  To  do  the  right.,  for  the 
right'' s  sake,  this  was  Lincoln's  principle;  and  this  will  and  must 
be  the  principle  of  his  successors,  if  they  would  entitle  them- 
selves to  the  meed  of  the  people's  favor,  and  of  an  imperishable 
name.  Thanks  be  to  God  for  those  inimitable  virtues  of  that 
name  which  he  has  inscribed  so  high  on  the  scroll  of  renown! 
virtues,  we  trust,  that  from  him  will  descend,  in  greater  or  less 
degree,  upon  all  the  office-bearers  of  the  land,  whether  they  be 
high  or  low.  And  shame  to  the  man,  who,  clothed  with  author- 
ity by  his  country,  will  hereafter  dare  to  step  aside  from  the 
straight  path  of  uprightness,  to  follow  the  crooked  devices  of  a 


Rev.  Benjamin  Watson^  D.D.  227 


selfish  and  sordid  policy!  And  you,  to  whom  this  great  legacy 
has  been  committed,  the  people  of  the  land,  see  that  you  honor 
it,  in  elevating  none  to  ofBce  who  do  not  bear  the  broad  impress 
of  a  high-minded  integrity.  Whatever  other  qualifications  they 
may  possess,  let  the  want  of  this  eclipse  them  all,  and  render 
their  possessor  ineligible  in  your  eyes.  As  the  arrow,  moulded 
upon  the  arms  of  Britain,  is  the  mark  of  her  ownership,  so  let 
this  virtue  be  the  necessary  stamp  entitling  any  man  to  public 
consideration  in  free,  republican  America. 

The  experiment  has  been  tried,  and  has  succeeded,  of  taking 
one  fresh  from  the  people  to  be  the  ruler  of  the  people.  It  is  not 
altogether  new  in  the  histor}^  of  the  world.  There  was  one, 
more  than  three  thousand  years  ago,  of  whom  it  is  written,- that 
"  God  took  him  from  the  sheepfolds  to  feed  Jacob,  his  people, 
and  Israel,  his  inheritance;"  and  of  whom  it  is  added,  "  So  he 
fed  them  with  a  faithful  and  true  heart;  and  ruled  them  prudently, 
with  all  his  power."  The  experiment  succeeded  then  as  now; 
and  the  choice  was  no  less  divine  in  the  one  case  than  in  the 
other,  though  the  manner  of  it  was  different.  King-craft  has 
grown  old,  and  royal  lines  are  running  out.  Here,  in  this  new 
land,  a  new  type  of  government  is  being  set  up,  —  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  as  near  an  approach  to  self-government  as  could 
well  be  tried.  The  nations  of  the  Old  World  shook  their  heads 
in  doubt  when  the  foundations  of  it  were  laid;  and,  though  it  had 
marvellous  success,  there  were  still  signs  of  weakness  in  it  that 
gave  them  hope  that  it  would  fail  at  length.  And,  as  the  awful 
notes  of  disunion  went  thundering  across  the  ocean,  they  clapped 
their  hands  in  glee,  and  cried,  "There,  there!  so  would  we  have 
it:  the  great  Republic  is  falling  to  pieces;  self-government  is  a 
failure."  And  in  this  thought,  and  the  wish  that  was  father  to  it, 
we  see  the  secret  reason  of  their  sympathy  with  rebellion,  and 
their  hearty  desire  that  it  should  succeed.     But  God  has  thwarted 


2  28  National  Humiliation. 


their  wishes.  He  has  thrown  his  Omnipotence  on  the  side  of 
right  and  of  human  freedom,  and  the  rebelHon  Hes  dead  at  our 
feet.  He  has  said,  therefore,  to  this  people,  "Your  cause  is  mine; 
go  on  prospering  and  to  prosper."  He  has  said  to  all  the  king- 
doms of  the  earth,  "  Regard  that  type,  and  learn  from  it.  It  is 
the  necessary  outgrowth  of  that  religion  which  I  gave  the  world 
eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  when  I  made  Redemption  a  common 
heritage  for  men,  and  sent  forth  my  Spirit  to  constitute  them  all 
my  sons." 

But  for  this  new  type  of  government  there  was  needed  a  new 
type  of  governor.  Hitherto,  in  our  chief  magistrates,  the  people 
have  not  been  represented.  They  have  been  mainly  from  what- 
ever » aristocracy  we  may  have  had,  —  of  birth,  of  positjon,  of 
wealth.  In  this  respe6l,  we  have  continued  under  our  Old-World 
origin  and  education.  And  I  must  confess  to  a  feeling  of  distrust 
when  the  new  regime  was  to  be  introduced.  But  in  the  grand 
success  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  first  President  of  the  Republic, 
elevated  from  the  people,  without  affluence,  without  position, 
either  social  or  political,  with  nothing  to  commend  him  but  his 
own  honest  heart  and  sagacious  mind,  God  has  set  his  seal  on  the 
experiment;  and,  though  we  cannot  divine  the  future,  we  think 
that  it  is  an  experiment  which  the  nation  will  not  fail  to  repeat, 
and  which  will  not  be  without  its  influence  upon  the  minds  of 
men  through  all  the  Christian  nations  of  the  globe.  For  so  it  is, 
my  brethren,  that  what  we  have  hitherto  dreamed  of,  and  perhaps 
vauntingly  predi6ted,  must  come  true,  that  this  American  Republic 
is  to  exercise  a  mighty  influence  upon  the  destiny  of  the  world. 
We  cannot  help  it.  None  of  those  great  things  which  have  lately 
transpired  were  done  in  a  corner.  While  they  were  transpiring, 
all  eyes  were  fixed  upon  us.  And  now  that  our  great  task  is  ac- 
complished, now  that  the  nation  has  proved  itself  equal  to  its 
most  formidable   necessity,  that  gaze  will  not  be  withdrawn,  but 


Rev.  Benjamin  Watson,  D.D.  229 


will  remain  to  observe  and  learn  whatever  we  shall  teach  them  of 
the  mystery  of  human  elevation,  and  of  the  progress  of  the  race. 
Can  you  weigh,  then,  the  responsibility  which  rests  upon  this  and 
all  coming  generations  in  this  favored  land?  Let  every  man 
among  us  resolve  that  he  wnll  aft  worthy  of  his  high  place  as  a 
citizen  of  this  Republic,  in  his  own  individual  charafter,  and  in 
the  blessing  that  he  may  be  to  those  around  him.  To  spread  in- 
telligence and  religion,  —  this  has  now  become  the  duty  of  every 
one  of  us,  to  that  extent  which  God  in  his  providence  has  given 
us  in  trust.  Now,  more  than  ever,  we  should  learn  that  no  man 
liveth  unto  himself,  but  that  we  are  all  our  brother's  keeper. 

But  let  us  not  forget  in  our  meditations,  that  this  is  a  day  of 
fasting  and  humiliation.  And  this  implies  that  we  have  sins  to 
mourn  over,  in  judgment  upon  which  "God  has  taken  away  him 
w^hom  the  people  delighted  to  honor.  Humble  yourselves,  there- 
fore, under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  that  he  may  lift  you  up.  Let 
each"  man  repent  of  his  own  individual  offences,  and  deplore 
the  wickedness  that,  alas !  abounds  in  our  midst.  Let  him,  in  the 
spirit  of  deep  humiliation,  pray  for  our  rulers,  that  they  may  be 
men  after  God's  own  heart;  for  our  people,  that  they  may  be  es- 
tablished in  righteousness;  for  the  noble  army  that  has  fought  our 
battles,  and  won  our  victories,  that,  now  that  they  are  disbanding 
and  returning  to  their  homes,  they  ma}-  still  be  citizens  in  whom 
we  will  delight,  and,  by  their  civic  virtues,  as  by  their  martial 
prowess,  become  the  bulwark  of  the  nation.  Let  us  pray  that 
the  benevolence  of  the  nation  may  flow  forth  to  those  who  return 
stricken  and  wounded;  that  they  may  not  suffer  through  those 
misfortunes  which,  in  our  cause,  they  have  incurred.  In  the 
words  with  which  that  noble  paper,  to  which  we  have  already 
referred,  concludes,  "  Let  us  strive  to  bind  up  the  nation's 
wounds ;  to  care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne  the  battle,  and  for 
his  widow  and   his  orphans;    to   do  all  which  may  achieve  and 


230  National  Humiliation. 

cherish  a  just  and  lasting  peace  among  ourselves,  and  with  all 
nations." 

The  thoughts  of  this  day  and  this  hour  will  inevitably  fade 
away.  It  is  the  fate  of  all  things  earthy.  But  let  it  not  be  so 
with  the  truths  that  it  teaches,  and  the  impressions  that  it  has 
made.  Let  them  remain,  to  be  the  guiding  stars  of  our  national 
course,  and  the  inward  forces  by  which  it  is  impelled  on  to  its 
highest  destiny! 

And,  resting  our  thoughts  once  more  on  him  who  has  gone, 
we  may  well  say 


^^ 


"  O  God !  we  thank  thee  that,  when  needed  most, 
Thou  raisedst  this  priest,  this  leader,  for  our  aid,  — 
This  model  statesman,  patriot,  martyr,  man. 
The  sum  of  all  we  honor  and  revere. 
God-given  !  God-recalled  !    Go  to  thy  grave 
Hallowed  by  tears,  the  purest  ever  shed ; 
A  nation's  sobs  and  tears  \\\y  funeral  hymn ; 
A  nation's  heart  thy  mausoleum  grand  ; 
A  nation's  gratitude  thy  deathless  fame ; 
A  nation  saved  thy  labor's  vast  reward." 

Daily  Evening  Telegraph,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  yune  7,  1865. 


EULOGIES,    SPEECHES,    AND    LETTERS. 


^ 


SPEECH    OF    MAJOR-GENERAL    N.    P.    BANKS 

AT    NEW    ORLEANS,    LA.,    APRIL    21,    1 865. 


MR.  President  and  Fellow -citizens,  —  It  is  only  since 
my  arrival  upon  this  platform  that  I  have  been  informed 
of  the  part  I  am  expelled  to  take  in  the  ceremonies  of  this 
occasion,  and  could  wish  for  longer  preparation,  with  the  view 
of  doing  more  perfe6t  justice  to  the  subje6l  of  the  hour;  but,  in 
accordance  with  the  wishes  of  your  committee,  I  will  proceed. 
God  knows  why  it  is,  or  how  it  is,  or  for  what  purpose  it  is,  that 
we  have  been  summoned  here;  but  now,  indeed,  can  we  feel  the 
nothingness  of  man,  and  that  it  is  best  for  us  to  bow  in  sup- 
plication to  God  for  his  counsel  and  support.  The  language  of 
the  hour  is  that,  not  of  comment,  not  of  condolence,  not  of  con- 
solation, but  of  supplication;  and  we  should  stand  before  the 
throne  of  God  to-day,  in  sackcloth  and  in  ashes,  in  silent  petition 
to  him  for  that  counsel  and  support. 

Human  plans  are  failures:  the  ideas  and  purposes  of  God 
alone  are  successful.  This  very  week  was  spontaneously  and 
unanimously  set  apart  by  the  American  people  as  a  season  for 
thanksgiving  and  joy,  for  the  great  relief  which  the  people  had 
experienced  from  a  terrible  war,  which  had  bereft  nearly  every 
family  in  the  North  and  South  of  its  dearest,  and  draped  nearly 
every  family  altar  as  is  now  draped  the  national  altar.     Suddenly 

30 


234  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

the  skies  were  brightened,  and  universal  peace  was  accepted  by 
the  nation  as  the  reward  of  the  terrible  strusforle  in  which  we  had 
been  engaged.  The  opening  of  the  Mississippi;  the  brilliant 
victories  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  in  1863;  the  fall  of  the 
rebel  cities  upon  the  Atlantic  coast  before  the  triumphant  march  of 
Sherman;  the  surrender  of  Lee  to  Grant;  and  the  occupation 
of  Mobile  by  the  gallant  chieftain  w^ho  is  here  in  our  presence 
to-day,  not  waiting  for  the  intelligence  that  the  last  army  of  the 
rebellion  had  surrendered  to  the  glorious  Sherman,  —  all  justified 
the  assumption  that  God  had  given  this  nation  permanent,  lasting, 
honorable,  and. glorious  peace!  But  while  we  were  preparing  for 
the  announcement  by  the  officers  of  the  Government,  —  always 
behind,  in  instin6ts  and  purposes  of  power,  the  people  of  the  gov- 
ernment, —  unexpectedly,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  as  if  with 
the  suddenness,  strength,  and  power  of  God,  —  all  of  us  lay  low 
in  sorrow,  mourning  and  despair.  I  believe  that  never  before  in 
human  history  were  a  people  so  horrified  as  by  the  announce- 
ment of  the  death  of  the  President,  and  the  fall  of  his  great 
assistant  in  council  and  a6lion,  —  the  Secretary  of  State.  We 
know  not  why  it  is,  but  we  have  the  great  consolation  to  say  that 
we  believe  it  is  for  good  to  our  nation.  Ay,  for  good  to  the 
man  that  has  fallen  as  our  representative.  He  had  committed 
no  crimes.  There  is  not  a  man  on  the  continent  or  globe  that 
will  or  can  say  that  Abraham  Lincoln  was  his  enemy,  or  that  he 
deserved  punishment  or  death  for  his  individual  a6ls.  No,  Mr. 
President,  it  was  because  he  represented  us  that  he  died;  and  it 
is  for  our  good,  and  the  glory  of  our  nation,  that  God,  in  his 
inscrutable  providence,  has  been  pleased  to  do  this,  while,  for  the 
late  President,  it  is  the  great  crowning  a6t  and  security  of  his 
career.  To  die  is  "  to  go  home,"  —  to  go  to  our  Father,  and  be 
relieved  from  sorrow,  care,  sufi:ering,  labor,  and  from  danger;  but 
to  live,  —  ay,  sir,  to  live  is  the  great  punishment  inflicted  upon 


Majoi^-General  N.  p.  Banks.  235 

man.  All  that  we  can  ask  is  to  go  when  all  things  are  ready,  — 
when  duty  is  discharged,  strength  exhausted,  and  the  triumph 
effected,  —  then  it  is  our  joy  to  go  home  to  "Our  Father."  As 
has  been  beautifully  said,  sir,  — 

*     "  When  faith  is  strong,  and  conscience  clear, 
And  words  of  peace  the  spirit  cheer, 
And  visioned  glories  then  appear, 
'Tis  joy — 'tis  triumph,  then,  to  die!  " 

God  has  given  our  great  leader  the  privilege  to  go,  under  cir- 
cumstances like  this.  He  had  lived  his  time,  fought  his  fight, 
and,  God  be  thanked !  had  kept  the  faith.  Let  me  say  it  reverently, 
that  for  Abraham  Lincoln  to  live  was  for  Abraham  Lincoln  to 
fall!  He  had  ascended  to  the  highest  point,  —  the  highest  culmi- 
nation of  human  destiny;  to  be  better  and  greater  and  purer, 
he  must  leave  us,  and  go  to  the  bosom  of  God.  He  is  enjoying 
the  highest  culmination  of  glory  that  God  has  given,  in  his  wise 
and  mysterious  dispensation  for  the  human  family. 

Sir,  I  had  seen  him  but  little,  but  that  which  I  had  seen, 
stamped  upon  my  heart  the  indelible  feeling  that  Ke  was  a  rare 
man,  —  not  a  great  or  a  successful  man:  many  of  both  kinds  have  I 
seen;  but  he  was  a  rare  man,  who  believed  in  the  power  of  ideas, 
and  knew  that  human  agencies  were  unable  to  control  or  dire6t 
them.  In  the  dispensation  of  what  men  call  "power,"  I  have 
seen  Mr.  Lincoln  give  it  to  the  right  and  left  as  if  of  no  conse- 
quence at  all;  and,  when  reproached  for  so  doing,  I  have  heard 
him  say,  "What  harm  did  this  generous  confidence  in  men  do 
me  ?  "  I  have  seen,  amidst  the  hpurs  of  trial,  his  manifestations 
of  patience  and  confidence,  more  almost  than  human;  until  I  had 
come  to  believe  that  that  which  is  designed  to  be  done  would  be 
accomplished,  if  not  by  human  power,  at  least  by  the  concurrent 
a6tion  and  support  and  will  of  God. 

Though  taken  from  us,  his  influence  is  still  here:  and  there  is 


236  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

not  a  man  in  this  assembly  to-day,  who  is  not  more  impressed 
with  his  spirit  and  purpose  than  he  would  be  if  Abraham  Lincoln 
were  living  at  this  hour;  nor  is  there  a  man  here  to-day,  who  is 
not  a  disciple  of  him,  and  the  agent  of  his  works  for  evermore. 
We  may,  indeed,  be  assured  that  his  great  purpose^^-the  Union, 
first  of  all  —  will  be  carried  out.  We  might  as  well  expeft  the 
Mississippi  to  turn  back  at  its  mouth,  and  seek  again  the  moun- 
tain rivulets  and  springs,  as  to  believe  that  human  power  is  to 
sunder  the  States  of  the  Union.  Abraham  Lincoln's  wisdom  and 
patriotism  has  led  us  as  far  as  human  effort  can  bring  us;  and  now 
his  blood  cements  for  ever  the  holy  Union  of  the  States. 

You  know,  fellow-citizens,  how  deeply  he  was  interested  in 
the  destinies  of  Louisiana.  No  friend  in  your  midst  ever  thought 
so  much  about  or  wished  so  much  for  your  good  as  the  late  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States;  and  it  was  among  the  first  wishes  of 
his  heart,  that  the  prosperity  of  its  people,  the  liberty  of  all  its 
races,  and  their  elevation,  should  be  perfected  during  his  adminis- 
tration :  or,  as  he  said  in  one  of  his  letters  to  me,  "  My  word  is 
out  for  these  things,  and  I  don't  intend  to  turn  back  from  it."  It 
is  not  for  me  to  a6l  or  speak  in  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  but  I  can 
say  to  you,  that  I  believe  his  wish  will  be  consummated  by  the 
return  of  Louisiana  to  the  Union,  by  the  honor,  freedom,  and 
elevation  of  all  classes  of  its  people. 

To  the  colored  people  of  this  assembly  and  State,  as  well  as 
the  Union,  I  can  say,  that  the  work  in  which  he  was  engaged  will 
go  on,  and  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  they  will  enjoy 
the  freedom  that  God  and  the  people  have  given  them,  and  also  be 
advanced  to  all  the  privileges  that,  under  the  Constitution  of  our 
country,  or  that  of  any  other,  God  has  deigned  to  besto\v  upon  any 
class  of  people.  But  they  must  remember,  that  they  have  a  work 
to  do,  and  that  while  God  is  just  to  all  his  people,  he  requires  that 
they  shall  be  just  to  him.     You  shall  be  free,  and  invested  with 


Major-General  N.  P.  Banks.  237 


all  the  privileges  of  which  men  are  capable  of  wise  and  proper 
exercise,  for  Abraham  Lincoln's  word  is  out. 

It  is  not  my  right  to  suggest  a  word  of  counsel  or  advice  for 
the  future;  but  I  have  the  right  to  say,  that  there  is  one  man  who 
seeks  your  prayers  and  desires  your  counsel.     It  is  he  who  has 
been    recently  inaugurated  —  unexpe6tedly   and    distrustfully,   as 
we    are    told  —  President  of  these    United    States.      Though    a 
President  has  gone,  we  must  sustain  the  President  that  remains. 
I   look   upon   the   State   of  Tennessee,  from  which  he   comes,   as 
being  the  centre  of  the  great  arch  of  the  Union:  midway  between 
the  South  and  North,  with  the  climate  of  the  one  and  the  other, 
its  soil  susceptible  of  producing  the  products  of  both  se6lions,  it 
calls  for  all  the  consideration  that  either  se6lion  of  the  country  can 
demand  for  its  people.     Its  political  cliarafter  and  stru6lure  have 
the  same  variety  and  conne6tion  with  the  destinies  of  our  country, 
and  for  thirty  years  have  been  more  closely  contested  in  political 
struggles  than  any  other  State  of  the  Union.     Its  vote  has  decided 
many  issues,  and  great  men  have  represented   its   interests   and 
destinies;  and  it  has  given  us  two  Presidents,  whose  administra- 
tions have  been  identified  closely,  not  only  with  the   existence, 
but  with  the  extension  and  interest,  of  our  country.    Jackson,  with 
his  mailed  arm,  struck  disunion  down  at  its  first  appearance,  and 
adapted   the   policy  of  the   country  to  its  need.     Polk  confirmed 
the  policy  of  Jackson,  and  extended  the  boundaries  of  our  happy 
land    until    it    reached    from   the   Atlantic   to   the    Pacific   coast. 
Among  the  great  men  of  place,  we  have  had  Benton,  Houston, 
Bell,  Foster,  and  hundreds   of  others  whose   names  are  known, 
and  who  have  been  and  are  connefted  indissolubly  with  the  hap- 
piness and  liberty  of  our  people.     From  amid  these  men,  the  new 
President    has    been   called.     Among  them    he   has  grown,   and 
from  their  teachings   has   he   been  instructed.     His  life  has  been 
one  of  a6tivity,  energy,  and  integrity.     Character  is  not  made  in 


238  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

a  day;  it  will  never  be  forfeited  in  an  hour.  Our  lamented  Pres- 
ident, if  he  could  advise  us,  w^ould  counsel  us  to  sustain  the 
Government,  and  those  left  to  take  his  place;  and  we  are  assured 
that  the  two  great  officers  then  at  the  head  of  the  nation  —  a  few 
days  before  the  departure  of  the  first  and  greatest  —  upon  full 
consultation,  found  that  they  had  perfe6tly  concurrent  views,  and 
separated  with  the  confidence  that  each  wished  the  prosperity 
and  success  of  the  other.  Let  us  then  accept  this  day,  its  grief, 
and  the  lesson  which  it  imparts,  and  be  more  than  ever  deter- 
mined, in  the  presence  of  God,  with  the  ability  and  power  he 
has  given  us,  to  do  our  duty  to  our  country,  by  maintaining  its 
institutions  and  perpetuating  its  principles  and  liberties. 

Neiv-Orleans  Tt'tnes,  April  27,,  1865. 


FUNERAL    ORATION    ON    THE    DEATH    OF 
PRESIDENT    LINCOLN: 


DELIVERED   BEFORE   THE   MAYOR,    CITY  COUNCIL,  AND    CITIZENS   OF  PORTLAND, 

APRIL   19,   1S65  ; 
BY   REV.  J.  J.   CARRUTHERS,   D.D. 


MR.  Mayor  and  Fellow-citizens,  —  The  memorable  days 
of  our  Republic  are  multiplying  with  marvellous  rapidit}^; 
and  amongst  the  most  memorable  of  them  all  will  be  the  four- 
teenth  of  April,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five,  when  the  hand 
of  violence  fell  fatally  on  all  that  was  mortal  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. The  dreadful  tragedy  —  more  dreadful  than  any  ever 
represented  in  the  mimicry  of  the  dramatic  stage  —  has  sent  a 
thrill  of  unmitigated  horror  through  the  land;  and  anguish,  par- 
alleled only  by  the  sorest  domestic  grief,  has  filled  the  hearts 
and  households  of  our  nation.  The  second  Father  of  his  country 
—  second^  only  because  he  was  not  the  first  —  has  fallen;  and,  in 
common  with  many  millions  of  affh6led  mourners,  we  are  met  to 
pay  the  last  tribute  of  respeft  to  the  memory  of  one  whose  death 
is  felt  by  each  of  all  these  millions  as  a  personal  bereavement. 
The  stroke  has  fallen  unexpe6tedly  and  suddenly  upon  us;  but 
suddenly  and  unexpectedly  only  because  it  is  not  given  to  us  to 
foresee  the  events  and  issues  even  of  a  single  day.  Divine  benev- 
olence and  wisdom  have  thrown  over  even  the  nearest  future,  a 
curtain  so  impenetrable,  that    human  sagacity,  however   trained 


240  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

and  tutored  by  experience,  can  but  conje6lure  as  to  what  lies 
behind  it.  To  God  himself,  nothing  is  unknown.  He  "  seeth  the 
end  from  the  beginning,  and  from  ancient  times  the  thing  that  is 
not  yet  done."  Nor  must  we  withhold  the  closing  part  of  this 
inspired  declaration,  in  which  he  says,  "  My  counsel  shall  stand, 
and  I  will  do  all  my  pleasure,"  Without  impairing  in  the  least 
the  free  agency  of  man,  without  mitigating  in  the  least  the  guilt 
or  just  desert  of  human  crime,  the  Sovereign  Ruler  of  the  uni- 
verse is  ever  working  out  to  their  designed  issues  his  purposes  of 
judgment  and  of  mercy.  Abraham  Lincoln  was  "  immortal  till 
his  work  was  done;"  and  though  his  purposes  w^ere  broken  off, 
even  the  thoughts  of  his  heart,  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin,  those 
of  the  All-wise  and  the  Almighty  are  undisturbed  and  undiverted 
even  by  a  catastrophe  like  this.  It  was  in  subserviency  to  his 
designs,  that  Abraham  Lincoln  first  saw  the  light,  and  was  born 
with  qualities,  phj^sical  and  mental,  which,  when  matured  by 
exercise,  observation,  and  experience,  fitted  him  for  the  high 
position  he  ultimately  reached,  and  for  the  solemn  responsibilities 
that  ever  invest  the  chief  magistracy  of  this  great  Republic.  He 
who  drew  the  deliverer  of  Israel  from  the  bulrushes  of  the  Nile, 
and  trained  him  for  his  destiny  in  the  wilderness  of  Midian,  took 
Abraham  Lincoln,  in  his  seventh  year,  from  his  birthplace  in 
Kentucky,  and,  till  his  twentieth,  kept  him  in  salutary  seclusion 
amidst  the  then  dense  forests  of  Indiana.  Here  his  naturally  strong 
and  stalwart  frame  gained  daily  vigor  from  the  work  to  which 
penury  impelled  and  honest  industry  inclined  him.  Here  too 
his  mental  faculties  were  developed  and  disciplined  by  the  study 
of  men  rather  than  of  books;  although  of  books,  he  had  the  best 
in  that  volume  which,  beyond  all  others,  yields  the  most  nutritious 
intelle6lual  aliment,  and  has,  in  all  ages,  given  instrumentally  the 
greatest  moral  heroes  to  the  world.  Of  these,  the  Pioneer  of 
Indiana  was  pre-eminently  one;   and  the  keen  acumen,  the  unaf- 


Rev.  y.  y.  Carrutkers,  D.D.  241 

fefted  earnestness,  the  filial  fidelity,  the  untiring  industry,  the 
ever  unslacked  thirst  of  knowledge,  the  unimpeached  and  unim- 
peachable truthfijlness  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  were,  in  no  small 
degree,  the  natural  results  of  early  conversance  with  the  lives  and 
a6ls  and  utterances  of  patriarchs  and  prophets  and  apostles.  No 
College  claims  him  as  its  abimnus.  His  Alma  Mater  was  fixed 
by  Providence  amidst  the  woods  and  waters  of  the  then  far-West. 
His  days  were  spent  in  hard  and  ill-remunerating  toil,  and  few 
indeed  were  the  hours  that  could  be  spared  for  what  is  called 
intelle6lual  improvement.  But  what  was  wanting  in  classical 
learning,  in  philosophical  research,  in  scientific  acquisitions,  was 
more  than  counterbalanced  b}^  the  reflex  a6lion  of  his  own 
mind,  by  the  close  study  of  his  country's  histor}',  by  the  stern 
necessities  of  a  life  admitting  of  no  idleness,  and  by  the  dictates 
of  a  moral  dignity  that  would  not  stoop  to  dissipation.  In 
another  and  a  higher  sense  than  is  usually  attached  to  such  an 
epithet,  Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  learned  man.  •  When  he  moved 
from  Indiana  to  his  adopted  State  of  Illinois,  he  largely  knew 
himself.  He  knew,  by  close  and  careful  study,  the  chara6ter  of 
Washington.  He  knew  the  constitutional  history  of  his  own 
country,  and  —  best  of  all  —  he  knew  and  revered  those  high 
and  holy  principles  of  right  and  justice  which  had  come  to  him 
in  his  forest  home,  with  the  seal  and  stamp  of  divine  authority. 
These  principles  were  incorporated  with  his  mental  being,  inter- 
woven and  blended  with  his  daily  thoughts,  giving  steadiness 
and  direction  to  the  noble  ambition  that  sought  eagerly  to  honor 
and  to  serve  his  country. 

True  greatness  is  never  unallied  with  modesty;  but  modesty 
in  him  was  something  else,  and  something  vastly  better,  than  that 
mawkish,  mopish  shamefacedness,  which  affe6ts  a  sense  of  inferi- 
ority that  is  not  felt,  and  creeps  and  cringes  for  compliments  that 
are  not  deserved.     When  summoned  by  the  citizens  of  Illinois 

31 


242  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

to  represent  them  in  their  legislature,  he  accepted  the  office  as 
one  to  which  he  was  consciously  equal,  and  the  responsibilities 
of  which  he  assumed  as  entirely  coincident  with  his  ability  and 
inclination.  He  yielded,  with  graceful  dignity,  and  just  confidence 
in  his  capacities  of  counsel  and  of  a6tion,  to  the  appointment  of 
his  fellow-citizens  as  a  member  of  the  convention  that  nominated 
Zachary  Taylor  as  a  candidate  for  the  presidential  chair.  When 
those  citizens  accorded  him  the  higher  honor  of  a6ling  as  their 
representative  in  Congress,  he  went  as  naturally  and  gracefully 
to  his  work,  as  in  his  boyhood  he  did  his  mother's  bidding,  and 
in  his  early  manhood  followed  his  father  to  the  forest.  He  took 
his  congressional  seat  as  a  workman  not  needing  to  be  ashamed. 
He  had  no  aspirations  towards  mere  oratorical  display.  For  this 
he  was  not  fitted,  and  he  knew  it;  but,  in  a  way  not  less  if  not 
more  effedlive,  by  a6ting  on  important  committees,  he  served  the 
interests  of  his  constituents,  and  of  the  country,  and  justified  to 
the  full  the  confidence  reposed  in  him.  He  did  not  in  mock 
modesty  shrink  subsequently  from  contesting  with  an  able  senator 
a  seat  in  the  higher  branch  of  our  national  legislature;  although, 
in  the  well-fought  field  of  friendly  emulation,  he  failed,  as  any 
man,  with  even  more  ability  than  he  as  a  debater,  would,  in  like 
circumstances,  certainly  have  done.  "  The  battle,"  in  such  cases, 
"is  not  always  to  the  strong;"  and  even  Illinois  was  not  yet 
prepared  for  the  position  he  then  boldly  assumed,  and  ever  after 
resolutely  maintained,  as  the  advocate  of  human  rights,  and  the 
earnest  friend  of  the  oppressed.  But  that  memorable  and  pro- 
longed debate  did  something  towards  facilitating  the  education  of 
the  people  in  the  science  of  right  doing;  and  it  had  the  effect, 
besides,  of  teaching  them  that,  if  they  should  ever  want  a  man  of 
courage,  resolution,  unswerving  honesty,  and  untiring  zeal,  to 
navigate  the  Ship  of  State  through  narrow  straits  and  over 
tempestuous  seas,  the  required  helmsman  might  be  found  in 
Springfield,  Illinois. 


Rev.  y.  y.  Carrut/iers,  D.D.  243 

He  was  found  there.  He  was  intrusted  with  the  mighty 
enterprise,  and  nobly  has  he  done  his  duty.  Even  he,  indeed, 
with  all  his  natural  sagacity,  and  acquired  knowledge  of  measures 
and  men,  but  partially  understood  the  magnitude  of  the  task  he 
undertook;  and  yet,  when  this  was  fully  seen,  when  the  whole 
danger  and  the  whole  duty  opened  to  his  view,  this  noble  man 
shrunk  not,  quailed  not,  nor  ever  once  betrayed  the  slightest 
distrust  in  the  successful  issue  of  the  fearful  struggle.  With  a 
depleted  treasury;  with  a  fleet  insignificantly  small,  and  scattered 
systematically  to  the  ends  of  the  earth;  with  the  army  scarcely 
more  than  nominally  such;  with  treason  stalking  at  mid-day  even 
in  the  capital;  with  half  the  States  in  armed  insurre6tion; 
with  disloyal  officers,  by  scores,  transferring  their  allegiance  to 
the  rebel  flag;  and  with  volunteer  forces  wholly  inadequate  in 
numbers  to  meet  the  domestic  foe,  ~  this  man  of  moral  might 
stood  firm  at  his  post  with  undiverted  eye,  with  steady  hand,  and 
with  a  heart  ever  confident  in  God  and  in  the  right. 

It  would  be  doing  great  injustice,  hou^ever,  to  his  memory, 
did  we  not  record  it  to  his  honor,  that,  from  first  to  last  of  his 
official  career,  he  never  momentarily  forgot  that  he  was  president 
of  a  Republic.  The  one-man  power  found  in  him  neither  advo- 
cacy nor  illustration.  He  rose  from  amongst  the  people,  and 
ruled  by  the  people's  will,  and  for  the  people's  benefit.  He 
skilfully  surrounded  himself  with  men  of  tried  and  tested  patriot- 
ism; and  if  any  one  of  them,  however  personally  esteemed,  proved 
untrue  to  his  prestige  or  unequal  to  his  post,  he  was  forthwith  and 
unceremoniously  set  aside.  He  had  no  petty  jealousy  of  obtru- 
sion, by  his  chosen  and  trusted  associates,  on  his  prerogatives  of 
office,  but  cheerfully  shared  with  each  and  all  of  them  the  honors 
as  well  as  the  duties  of  the  Government.  Though,  at  first,  sup- 
posed by  some  to  have  too  little  independence  of  thought  and 
action,  and  too  easily  induced  to  adopt  opinions  and  measures 


244  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

not  wholly  accordant  with  personal  convictions,  experience  effec- 
tually corrected  this  erroneous  estimate  of  the  noble  man,  and 
tauofht  all  other  men  that  Abraham  Lincoln  had  his  own  indi- 
vidual  conscience,  and  was  guided  by  it.  By  slow  degrees  of 
popular  enlightenment,  and  the  surest  proofs  of  adminstrative 
wisdom,  it  became  apparent  to  the  most  obtuse  observer,  that, 
thouofh  he  was  neither  the  commander  nor  the  creature  of  his 
Cabinet,  he  had  a  will  of  his  own,  and  would  yield  it  only  to 
conviction,  or  to  the  force  of  circumstances  not  to  be  controlled. 
The  plastic  ease  with  which  he  met  the  exigencies  of  each 
occasion  as  it  rose,  the  bland  and  genial  courtesy  which  made 
every  man  approaching  him  feel  perfectly  at  home,  the  winning 
smile  that  came  like  the  sparkling  ebullition  of  a  natural  fountain 
from  the  deep  recesses  of  a  loving  heart,  were  found  by  manifold 
experiments  to  be  combined  with  a  courage  that  no  danger  could 
intimidate,  a  constancy  which  no  vicissitude  could  shake,  a  confi- 
dence that  rested  on  no  precarious  or  problematic  basis,  but  on 
the  solid  and  immutable  principles  of  truth  and  justice.  From 
these  principles,  no  force  of  adverse  reasoning  could  remove  him, 
and  no  fulsome  adulation  could  seduce  him.  Even  the  wisest  of 
his  counsellors  knew  full  well  from  the  beginning,  and  the  ene- 
mies of  equity  learnt  to  their  hearts'  content,  that  Abraham 
Lincoln,  in  his  panoply  of  honesty,  was  proof  against  all  attempts 
to  gain  him  over  even  to  a  seeming  recognition  of  constructive 
falsehood,  or  the  practical  adoption  of  a  treacherous  expedi- 
ency. 

The  Constitution  of  our  country,  as  expounded  by  the  great- 
est jurist  of  modern  times,  and  as  understood  by  many  of  the  most 
intelligent  lovers  of  their  country  and  mankind,  seemed  at  least  to 
admit  of  such  construction  as  was  favorable  to  a  system  of  ini- 
quitous oppression.  By  guarding  jealously  the  rights  of  States, 
it  appeared  to  place  this  system,  as  such,  beyond  the  jurisdiction 


Rev.  y.  y.  Carruthers^  D.D.  '  245 

of  the  Union,  and  leave  ta  this,  as  its  only  legitimate  sphere  in 
that  direction,  the  power  of  confining  within  or  extending  beyond 
actual  State  organizations,  the  great  crime  and  grievous  curse  of 
human  bondage.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
so  interpreted  his  oath  of  office,  as  to  feel  himself  bound,  in 
honor  and  justice,  to  abstain  from  influencing  by  any  a6l  of 
power  the  legislation  or  executive  action  of  any  of  the  States 
when  seen  to  be,  or  seeming  to  be,  stri6tly  constitutional.  Then 
conscience  and  Constitution  were  at  variance;  but,  as  he  had 
sworn  to  maintain  the  latter,  conscience  demanded  a  rigid  adhe- 
rence to  his  oath.  He  did  adhere  to  it;  and  it  was  in  perfe6l 
accordance  with  the  spirit  and  terms  of  that  oath,  that,  when  a 
military  necessity  arose  for  his  intervention,  as  Commander-in- 
chief,  in  the  way  of  liberating  a  portion  of  the  colored  people  of 
the  land,  he  embraced  the  providential  opportunity,  and  sent  forth 
that  glorious  proclamation  of  emancipation  which  alone  would 
have  immortalized  his  name. 

A  military  necessity  was  the  immediate  occasion  of  that  meas- 
ure; but  there  are  other  necessities,  higher,  holier,  and  still  more 
imperative,  —  necessities  to  which  the  demon-power  of  slavery 
must  succumb,  —  necessities  involved  in  the  principles  of  God's 
word,  admonitions  interwoven  with  the  instincts  of  humanity,  and 
demanding  with  an  authority  that  calls  heaven  and  earth  to  wit- 
ness, in  these  days  of  civil  commotion  and  convulsion,  the 
expulsion  of  the  slaveholding  demon  from  the  body  politic,  and 
an  interdi6l  strong,  enduring,  and  irrevocable,  against  its  return. 
That  interdict  will  soon  be  pronounced  by  the  American  people; 
and  the  imperishable  record  of  the  amended  Constitution  be 
embodied  in  the  epitaph  of  our  late  noble  President. 

We  have  said  that  Abraham  Lincoln  could  not  die  before  his 
work  was  done.  Beautifully  symmetrical  as  were  the  intelle6lual 
and  moral   qualities  by  which  he  was  distinguished,  it  is  no  dis- 


246  Eulogies^  Speeches^  and  Letters. 


paragement  of  the  man  or  of  the  ruler  to  say  that  he  could  not 
have  met,  as  another  may,  the  solemn  responsibilities  of  the  crisis 
at  which,  as  a  nation,  we  have  now  arrived.     That  heart  of  love 
was  not  to  be  trusted  with  the  work  of  dealing  with  the  authors 
and  abettors  of  gigantic  treason.     Himself  so  absolutely  free  from 
guile,  he  was  but  ill  qualified  to  look  through  those  disguises  by 
which  wicked   men   conceal  their  deep  designs,  and,  when  these 
designs    are    thwarted,   put    on    an   air   of  ingenious  regret,  and 
even  of  injured  innocence.     That  recent  visit  of  our  noble  Chief 
to  Richmond,  which  many  lamented,  and  not  a  few  feared  might 
lead  to  a  catastrophe   like   that  which   has  filled  the  land  with 
mourning,  —  that  visit,  with  its  immediate  and  possible  results, 
may  reconcile  us  to  an   event  in  itself  most  deplorable  and  sad, 
but,  in  its  issues,  not  incompatible  with  the  honor,  safety,  and 
well-being  of  the  nation.     We  sympathize  most  deeply  and  sin- 
cerely in  their  affliction  with   the  widow  and   the   orphan   sons  of 
our  great  and  good  Chief  Magistrate.    We  estimate,  at  its  highest 
worth,  the  homage  paid  this  day,  through  the  whole  land,  to  his 
distinguished   virtues;    but   we  will    not,    even    at    the    tomb   of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  "despair  of  the  Republic."     Despair!      The 
very  whisper  of  despair  might  re-animate  that  corpse  which  has 
this  day  been  carried  to  the  tomb,  might  re-open  those  meek  and 
lustrous  eyes,  dispart  those  lips  of  mildness  and  decision,  and  draw 
forth  a  withering  rebuke  of  the  godless  unbelief  and  craven  cow- 
ardice that  could  despair  of  a  Republic  such  as  ours.     No  man, 
however  great,  however  good,  is  essential  to  the  welfare  of  our 
country.       He  who    gave    us   this  great  chief  can  give   us,   has 
already  given  us,  another,  who  will  meet  the  responsibilities  of  a 
trust  so   suddenly  and  solemnly  imposed  upon  him.     He  cannot 
yet  divide  with  his  lamented  predecessor  the  love  and  homage  of 
his  fellow-citizens;    but  he  is   sure  to   gain  them,  if  the  practical 
pledges  of  his  past  life  shall  be  redeemed,  and  if  the   incipient 


Rev.  y.  y.  Carrut/iers,  D.D.  247 

promise  of  his  administration  shall  be  verified  by  its  progressive 
development  and  prospective  issues.  Let  us  not,  then,  dishonor  the 
memory  of  him  whom  we  so  sincerely  mourn,  by  questioning 
the  future  stability  of  our  institutions;  the  progress  of  civilization 
through  the  entire  undivided  land;  the  moral  greatness  of  a  nation 
emerging,  in  athletic  vigor,  from  a  furnace  that  would  have  con- 
sumed any  other;  the  glorious  moral  destiny  of  a  people  set  for 
the  defence  and  the  diffusion,  through  the  world,  of  rational 
liberty,  secured  by  the  unfailing  guarantees  of  high  intelligence, 
mutual  forbearance,  and  unaffe6led  piety.  We  bid  a  long 
farewell  to  the  man  whom  we  this  day  honor;  we  follow,  in 
imagination,  his  remains  with  the  retinue  of  domestic  and  public 
mourners  to  its  temporary  depository,  and  thence  again  to  the 
place  of  final  sepulture;  but  we  will  not  forget,  amidst  our  per- 
sonal sorrow  and  sympathetic  grief,  that  our  nation  holds  its  life 
by  a  higher  tenure  than  that  of  frail  mortality,  and  that,  whatever 
rulers  rise  or  fall,  "  In  God  we  trust." 

Maine  State  Press,  Portland,  April  27,  1S65. 


EULOGY     OF     PRESIDENT     LINCOLN: 

DELIVERED     AT    JEFFERSONVILLE,     INDIANA,     APRIL     1 9,    1S65  ; 

BY  SURGEON  R.  H.  GILBERT,  U.S.  VOLS., 

SUPERINTENDENT    AND     MEDICAL     DIRECTOR    UNITED-STATES     ARMY    GENERAL     HOSPITALS. 


HOW  solemn  and  how  eloquent  is  this  occasion!     The  purest 
man,  the  noblest  patriot,  the  foremost  man  of  the   nation, 
Abraham  Lincoln,  is  dead! 

He  in  whom  were  centred  the  hopes  of  thirty  millions  of 
people  has  been  stricken  down,  and  is  no  more.  The  nation 
mourns  his  loss!  From  the  rocks  of  the  Atlantic  to  the  sands  of 
the  Pacific,  from  the  great  lakes  to  the  gulf,  on  every  sea 
wherever  the  flag  floats,  in  every  land  wherever  the  spirit  of 
liberty  breathes,  grief  weighs  down  the  heart,  and  sorrow  fills  the 
air.  How  imperfe6tly  can  words  express  a  grief  so  deep,  a  sor- 
row so  profound! 

Hearts  that  beat  with  joyous  pride  a  few  days  since,  for  the 
yi6tories  which  our  arms  have  achieved,  now  beat  heavily  with 
grief.  Eyes  that  beamed  with  joy  at  the  prospe6l  of  returning 
peace  are  now  dimmed  with  tears. 

A  good  and  a  great  man,  ripe  in  wisdom,  in  the  meridian  of  his 
glory,  when  he  was  contemplating  how  he  could  best  be  mag- 
nanimous to  those  who  for  four  years  have  been  —  until  compelled 
by  our  vi6tories  to  lay  them  down  —  in  arms  against  liberty  and 


Surgeon  R.  H.  Gilbert.  249 

against  union;  how  he  could  be  magnanimous,  and  yet  be  true 
to  the  great  trust  confided  to  him  by  the  people,  —  true  to  the  best 
interests  of  the  nation,  —  has  been  summoned,  without  a  moment's 
w^arning,  to  appear  before  his  God,  the  Ruler  of  the  nations! 

How  few  there  are  of  his  servants  who  were  better  prepared 
to  receive  that  summons,  which  it  pleased  God  in  his  unfathom- 
able wisdom  to  send  by  the  hands  of  an  assassin! 

In  the  contemplation  of  this  awful  and  tragic  event,  it  seems  as 
if  we  w^ere  rolled  back  two  thousand  years  to  the  barbarous  ages; 
as  if  the  Star  of  Bethlehem,  the  golden  fruits  of  the  gospel,  the 
civilization  and  progress  of  twenty  centuries,  have  been  annihi- 
lated. We  seem  no  longer  Americans;  but  to  stand  again  in  the 
forum  of  Rome,  with  dead  Caesar  at  our  feet. 

While  our  hearts  are  saddened  with  this  great  sorrow;  while 
every  feeling  of  kindness  and  charity  has  been  outraged  by  this 
most  infamous  of  wicked  deeds,  and  blackest  of  human  crimes, — 
we  have  need  of  all  our  virtues  and  calm  self-possession  to  keep 
the  feelings  of  revenge  against  the  perpetrators  and  sympathizers 
of  this  horrid  tragedy  from  becoming  uppermost  in  our  hearts. 
We  have  need  of  all  our  faith  and  religion  to  see  beyond  the 
black  evil,  which,  like  a  dark  cloud,  shrouds  the  present,  and  read 
ariofht  the  lessons  which  God  intends  it  shall  teach  us. 

We  have,  as  a  nation,  reason,  in  the  midst  of  our  mourning,  to 
be  devoutly  thankful  that  God  in  his  goodness  has  withheld  the 
assassin's  hand  so  long.  As  we  stand  now  we  can  only  see 
hydra-headed  treason  rearing  his  head  in  the  capital.  We  can 
only  see  in  this  damnable  deed,  the  Devil's  black  hand.  But  wait 
a  little,  we  shall  see  God's  back  of  it. 

Marching  along  with  the  armies  of  the  Union,  with  your  pros- 
pe6t  and  view  shut  out  by  the  dust  of  the  march,  370U  have  found 
it  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  discern  the  point  of  your  depar- 
ture, or  to  correctly  discover  your  future  destination. 

32 


250  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

It  is  only  when  you  have  gained  the  height  of  some  command- 
ing eminence  that  you  can  review  the  region  over  which  you 
have  journeyed,  and  see  the  destination  of  the  long  lines  of  your 
fellow-soldiers,  which  were  wending  their  way  along  the  valleys 
and  through  the  mountain  passes;  and  so  now,  walking  wearily 
and  sorrowfully  in  the  shadow  of  the  great  mountain  of  grief 
which  rises  before  us,  with  our  eyes  dimmed  with  tears  for  the 
nation's  loss,  we  cannot  see  what  lies  beyond.  When,  through 
toil  and  suffering,  we  shall  have  climbed  to  the  summit  of  the 
mountain,  with  wondering  eyes,  we  shall  then  see  stretched  out 
before  us  the  valleys  of  peace;  and,  far  beyond,  in  the  blue  sky, 
above  the  purple  hills,  the  cloud  which  seems  so  dark  to  us  now, 
turning  to  silver  beneath  the  rays  of  God's  transcendent  love. 

I  have  said  that  in  our  great  sorrow  we  have,  as  a  nation,  rea- 
son to  be  devoutly  thankful  to  God,  that  in  his  goodness  he  has 
been  pleased  to  withhold  the  assassin's  hand  until  so  much  of  the 
great  work  of  annihilating  this  fiendish  rebellion  has  been  accom- 
plished. It  is  too  late  now  for  treason's  bullet  or  the  assassin's 
dagger  to  stop  the  wheels  of  liberty's  engine,  to  arrest  the  nation 
in  its  onward  march  towards  the  accomplishment  of  its  glorious 
destiny.  Nay:  the  assassin's  dagger  will  rather  hasten  it  onward 
in  the  accomplishrnent  of  its  purpose.  It  may  be  the  age  of 
bullets,  but  it  is  also  the  age  of  ideas.  It  will  open  the  eyes 
of  those  who  have  been  crying  "Peace,  peace!  when  there  is  no 
peace,"  to  the  realization  that  we  are  fighting  to  save  the  life  of 
the  nation  against  a  barbarism  —  the  child  of  slavery  —  which  is 
not  less,  but  more  to  be  dreaded  that  it  finds  its  home  in  educated 
and  cultivated  minds.  It  will  strengthen  the  knees  that  have 
knocked  together  or  kneeled  down  at  the  mention  of  slavery.  It 
will  give  vigor  to  hands  and  arms  that  have  hung  paralyzed  in  its 
presence,  and  bid  them  lay  hold  of  the  roots  of  the  stump  of 
the  tree  of  slaver}^,  that  has  fallen  beneath  the  giant  blows  of  the 


Stirgeon  R.  H.  Gilbert.  25 1 

great  man  whose   loss  we   deplore,  and  tear  them  for  ever  from 
American  soil. 

When  in  the  history  of  nations  has  one  so  illustrious  been 
stricken  down  from  so  exalted  a  position  ?  When  has  so  true  and 
honest  a  patriot  —  one  so  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  — 
been  torn  from  a  nation's  heart  by  a  murderous  hand  ?  Looking 
back  through  the  ages,  to  revolutions  that  have  swept  over  the 
earth,  and  changed  the  destinies  of  the  world;  searching  the  his- 
tories of  empires  that  have  risen  to  power  and  greatness,  and 
crumbled  to  dust,  —  we  shall  find  none  of  all  the  great  names  of 
those  whose  lives  have  been  handed  down  for  the  admiration 
of  posterity,  stamped  more  indelibly  upon  the  age  in  which  they 
lived,  or  that  will  live  longer  in  thQ  grateful  remembrance  of 
future  generations. 

His  colossal  proportions  will  best  be  seen  in  after  times  by  the 
light  of  history.  It  is  not  the  dwellers  upon  the  mountain  sides 
that  fully  realize  their  magnitude;  but  to  those  who  are  farther 
removed  from  them,  they  appear  in  all  their  sublimity  and  gran- 
deur. But  we,  to-day,  remembering  all  his  greatness  in  the  past; 
his  voice  of  wisdom,  from  which  all  men  their  omens  drew;  his 
firm  will,  true  to  the  times  in  which  he  lived;  his  great  goodness 
of  heart,  his  broad  humanity,  his  noble  honest}^,  and  integrity  of 
purpose,  —  can  weave  no  wreath  of  words  to  crown  his  brow,  or 
express  the  universal  woe. 

America's  leader  has  fallen!  The  wail  of  mourning  of  a 
mighty  nation  fills  the  land.  It  comes  to  us  from  the  prairies  that 
stretch  in  airy  undulations  far  away  to  the  North-west,  from  the 
pioneer's  rude  hut  on  the  frontier,  from  the  crowded  mart  of 
every  city,  from  Maine  way  round  to  the  gulf,  from  the  golden 
gates  of  California  to  where  Oregon  rolls  its  waters  to  the  sea, 
from  every  ship  that  unfurls  its  white  sails  and  starry  flag  to  the 
breeze.     It  rises   in   solemn,  sorrowing  anthem  from  the  hearts 


252  Eulogies^  Speeches^  and  Letters. 

of  four  millions  of  freedmen,  whose  chains  have  fallen  by  his 
hand,  and  from  the  oppressed  of  every  clime.  Everywhere  the 
friends  of  liberty  weep. 

"  Lead  out  the  pageant,  sad  and  slow, 
As  fits  an  universal  woe. 
Let  the  long,  long  procession  go, 
And  let  the  sorrowing  crowd  about  it  grow, 
And  let  the  mournful  martial  music  blow,  — 
The  great  American  lies  low. 

Yea,  let  all  good  things  await 
Him  who  cares  not  to  be  great, 
But  as  he  saves  or  serves  the  State. 

Such  was  he  :  his  work  is  done  ; 

But,  while  the  races  of  mankind  endure, 

Let  his  great  example  stand 

Colossal,  seen  of  every  land. 

And  keep  the  soldier  firm,  the  statesman  pure, 

Till  in  all  lands,  and  through  all  human  story, 

The  path  to  duty  be  the  path  to  glory." 

Daily  Union  Press,  Louisville,  Ky.,  April  21,  1S65. 


SPEECH    OF   MAJOR-GENERAL    IIURLBUT 

AT    NEW    ORLEANS,    LA.,    APRIL    21,    1865. 


FELLOW-CITIZENS,  — With  all  these  outward  demonstra- 
tions surrounding  me;  with  those  flags  —  the  flags  of  our 
common  country  —  at  half-mast;  the  habiliments  of  woe,  and  dra- 
peries that  surround  the  balconies  and  porches  of  our  fair  city; 
the  still,  steady  countenances  of  this  vast  assemblage,  with  the 
burden  that  every  man  feels  at  his  heart,  —  we  are  assembled  here 
this  day  to  express  our  sorrow  for  the  greatest  calamity  that  has 
ever  befallen  human  progress  since  the  world  was.  It  is  well 
that  here,  in  this  city  of  New  Orleans,  from  the  banks  of  this 
magnificent  river,  the  child  of  the  Union,  the  creature  of  that  vast 
commerce  that  sweeps  back  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the  one 
side,  and  the  Alleghanies  on  the  other,  —  it  is  well  that  you,  citizens 
of  this  city  and  this  State,  the  spoiled  and  petted  child  of  this 
Union,  should  recognize  here  to-day  the  obligation  and  duties 
that  fall  upon  you  as  citizens  of  this  great  Republic,  whose  head 
and  front  has  been  stricken  down  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin.  It 
is  well,  too,  —  as  the  remarks  that  have  fallen  from  my  friend  who 
led  us  in  prayer  on  this  solemn  occasion  have  indicated,  —  it  is 
well  for  us  all  to  peer  deeply  down  into  our  hearts;  for,  since 
the  day  when  unholy  men  crucified  the  very  Lord  of  grace,  no 
such  crime  has  been  perpetrated,  or  known  in  the  pages  of  his- 
tory, as  this  which   has   brought  us   here  to-day.     The   parallel 


254  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

holds  good,  be  it  spoken  with  due  reverence;  for  the  truest  and 
best,  most  thorough  and  most  powerful,  friend  to  the  madmen 
who,  in  their  frenzy  and  fanaticism,  have  laid  him  low,  was  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  late  President  of  these  United  States. 

Let  me  then,  here,  to-day,  in  the  first  place,  recognize  the 
deep  detestation  and  horror  which  should  fill  every  heart,  wher- 
ever it  is,  under  whatever  sun,  at  the  atrocity  and  enormity  of  the 
horror  which  has  darkened  this  country  with  grief  We  meet 
here  for  the  purpose  of  paying  some  fit  and  feeble  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  the  great  man  who  has  led  our  country  through  these 
last  four  years  of  agony  and  sorrow.  We  meet  here  as  citizens 
of  a  common  Union,  as  children  of  the  same  soil,  by  birth  or  by 
voluntary  adoption.  And  it  may  be  there  are  those  here  who 
come  under  neither  of  these  descriptions,  but  are  the  denizens  of 
these  United  States,  remaining  under  their  national  flag,  while 
quietly  dwelling  under  the  broad  protection  of  our  banner;  and 
to  all  of  these  classes  of  men  this  day  is  momentous. 

I  do  not  propose  to  speak  at  length  here,  and  on  this  occasion, 
of  the  life  and  public  services  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  I  dare  not 
trust  myself  with  the  task.  I  but  little  thought,  years  ago,  before 
he  was  elevatecf  to  the  presidency  of  the  United  States,  —  be- 
fore war  had  spread  her  blood-stained  wing  over  our  country,  — 
when  I  used  to  meet  him  in  the  ordinary  course  of  civil  life  in  my 
own  adopted  State, — I  little  thought,  that,  after  four  years  of  ser- 
vice under  our  flag  in  suppressing  a  rebellion,  I  should  stand 
in  this  central  park  of  New  Orleans,  in  the  service  of  my  country, 
to  speak  words  of  eulogy  upon  the  death  of  him,  the  President  of 
these  United  States.  But  of  the  past  we  are  secure.  Glory, 
honor,  the  praise  of  all  good  men,  have  crowned  his  eventful 
career;  and  when  in  the  providence  of  Almighty  God,  to  whose 
inscrutable  decrees  we  must  all  bow, — just  as  the  ruby  dawn  of 
peace   was    breaking  upon  our   distra6ted   country;   just  as    the 


Major-  General  Hurlbut.  255 

arms  of  the  Confederacy,  fairly  beaten,  were  being  laid  down; 
just  when  that  gentle  heart,  that  true,  afte6lionate,  honest  man, 
seemed  most  required  to  throw  the  impulse  and  pressure  of  his 
power  upon  the  question  of  reconstruction, — just  then  it  pleased 
God  that  a  cowardly  and  brutal  murderer  should  strike  down  this 
great  man  by  a  blow,  dastard-like,  from  behind,  and  in  the  very 
presence  of  his  wife. 

These  things  make  it  my  duty,  fellow-citizens,  to  say  frankly 
and  broadly  to  you  here  to-day,  that  however  the  investigation 
of  this  matter  may  turn  out,  it  is  written  in  the  destinies  of  all 
men,  that  no  man  can  commence  upon  a  career  of  crime,  and 
know  at  what  enormity  he  will  stop;  and  this  is,  whether  the 
result  of  a  wide-spread  conspiracy  or  not,  the  natural  and  inevi- 
table result  of  the  great  crime  attempted  four  years  ago  against 
the  nation.  From  being  traitors,  it  is  the  easiest  gradation  down- 
wards to  be  murderers  and  assassins.  And  let  me  say  to  you 
another  thing:  I  trust  in  God,  that  the  investigations  that  are 
now  going  on  may  not  fix  the  guilt  of  this  enormous  offence  upon 
an}^  persons  who  may  be  considered  as  representatives  of  the 
Southern  people;  for,  if  that  thing  does  come,  no  power  but  the 
Almighty  can  stay  the  just  vengeance  of  an  outraged  nation.  I 
hope,  as  a  man  anxious  to  see  bloodshed,  ruin,  and  devastation 
cease,  I  hope  that  this  great  crime  may  be  proven  to  have  been 
the  offshoot  of  some  individual  baseness,  —  some  single  criminal. 
Yes,  I  hope  it. 

Fellow-citizens,  —  The  record  of  President  Lincoln  is  before 
the  nation  and  the  world.  I  affirm,  that  in  the  whole  history  of 
the  world,  not  excluding  him  who,  by  common  consent,  is  known 
as  the  Father  of  his  Country,  was  there  ever  presented  so  spot- 
less, so  pure,  so  generous,  so  simple,  so  truthful,  so  energetic  a 
character.  Politics  have  ceased:  there  are  no  politics  in  these 
United    States;    there    are    no    parties    in    these    United  States. 


256  Eulogies,  Speeches,  mid  Letters. 

Ele6ted  originally  as  the  representative  of  a  party,  this  great  man 
became  the  representative  of  every  loyal  heart  in  the  nation!  No 
one,  but  some  old  hack,  whose  back  is  like  that  of  an  old  horse 
in  a  bark-mill,  adheres  to  politics  now.  There  is  nothing  now 
but  a  nation;  nothing  that  divides  us  but  the  national  quarrel. 
How  widely  and  how  entirely  did  he  spread  his  inviting  arms  to 
call  in  all  these  wanderers !  What  has  he  not  done  for  this  place 
and  this  people  ?  It  is  to  him  that  you  owe  your  existence  as  a 
State  and  a  city;  and  thus  it  is  that  this  occasion  is  so  moment- 
ous. 

Whatever  you  have  of  civil  order,  of  civil  law,  is  the  free  gift 
of  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  tendernesses  and  charities  of  whom 
were  as  inevitable  to  his  nature  as  light  to  the  sun.  They  came 
from  him  as  water  boils  from  a  spring;  the  deep  fountains  of  his 
nature  yielded  uncounted  supplies  of  all  kindness  and  benevo- 
lence: such  a  man,  so  clothed  in  graceful  form;  such  a  man,  so 
surrounded  by  all  pleasant  influences;  such  a  man,  in  the  very 
pride  and  dignity  of  his  great  office,  —  has  fallen  by  the  hand  of  a 
cut-throat  and  a  bravo;  and  the  American  nation,  which  has  held 
its  head  high  for  its  civilization  and  its  courage,  is  disgraced  by 
the  knowledge  that  the  crimes  of  all  the  old  worn-out  barbarism 
of  Europe  are  to  be  repeated  and  renewed  among  us. 

We,  the  officers  of  the  arm}^,  and  the  soldiers  here,  revered 
him  as  our  comrade.  A  man  wholly  unused  to  military  affiiirs, 
he  has  yet  taken  so  deep  an  interest  that  probably  no  man  in  the 
Cabinet  at  Washington  could  more  closely  follow,  and  more  thor- 
oughly understand,  the  movements  and  combinations  of  our  great 
leaders.  A  man  who  never  had  mingled  much  in  the  craft  of 
statesmanship,  he  yet,  having  assumed  those  duties,  recognized  at 
once  that  the  true  policy  for  a  bold  and  brave  people  was  to  fol- 
low the  righteous  instincts  of  a  just  heart  and  an  enlightened  in- 
tellect.    He  has  educated  this  people  up  to  the  position  they  now 


Major-  Geizeral  Hurlhd.  257 

hold;  and,  at  last,  crowned  with  honor,  having  reached  the  very 
topmost  round  of  the  ladder  of  human  ambition,  he  has  stepped 
from  that  to  heaven,  there  to  receive  that  which  will  be  his  re- 
ward,—  the  plaudits  of  "Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant; 
enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 

Let  me  remind  you  of  one  thing  more,  and  I  am  done.  The 
President  may  die;  the  nation  lives!  Individuals  perish;  the  su- 
perstructure of  our  Government  stands !  Stands,  and  will  stand ; 
and  the  gates  of  Death  and  Hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it. 
We  are  now  rebuilding  the  shattered  portions  of  that  glorious 
fabric,  and  it  stands  based  upon  the  throbbing,  pulsating  joy  of 
the  brave  hearts  of  millions  upon  millions  of  freemen;  and  while 
God's  mercy  continues,  and  while  God's  law  continues,  this 
American  Republic,  founded  on  universal  right  and  universal 
freedom,  will  challenge  the  admiration,  the  applause,  and  if  need 
be  the  fear,  of  the  world. 

Thus,  then,  we  are  led  to  the  fa6t  that  our  duties  are  still  as 
incumbent  upon  us  as  ever.  The  great  gap  that  has  been  made 
in  the  ostensible  leaders  of  Government  will  be  filled.  The  glo- 
rious memory  of  the  President 'will  remain  to  us;  but  the  solemn, 
assured,  onward,  determined,  inevitable  march  of  this  great  peo- 
ple to  the  consummation  of  her  destiny  shall  not  and  will  not  be 
stopped.  While,  then,  we  mourn  the  lost  man,  brother,  and  ruler, 
we  know  that  the  blow  that  struck  him  cannot  strike  the  vitals  of 
the  nation.  Here  we  are,  here  we  are  ready  to  be,  each  man  in 
his  place,  —  officers,  soldiers,  citizens,  workmen,  —  all,  every- 
where, of  all  complexions  and  castes,  working  for  the  one 
straightforward  object,  —  the  perpetuation  of  human  freedom,  the 
progress  of  human  destiny,  through  God's  great  agent,  the  Amer- 
ican Union. 

Nexv-Orleans  Titncs,  April  2;^,  1865. 


ADDRESS    BY    ALFRED    T.  JONES,    ESQ^* 


FRIENDS,  —  The  President  of  the  United  States  has  recom- 
mended this  day  to  be  set  apart  throughout  the  land  as  one 
of  humiHation,  fasting,  and  prayer,  commemorative  of  the  mourn- 
ful death  of  our  late  Chief  Magistrate,  Abraham  Lincoln,  on  the 
fifteenth  day  of  April  last;  and  at  this  moment  its  millions  of 
people  are  assembled  around  the  altar  of  their  God,  with  sad- 
dened spirits  and  chastened  hearts,  uniting  in  solemn  supplication 
and  prayer,  —  a  mournful,  a  noble,  and  imposing  spe6lacle. 

Although  on  this  holy  festival  of  Pentecost  the  scattered  fol- 
lov^ers  of  Israel's  faith  are  commanded  by  their  holy  law^  to 
repair  to  the  house  of  prayer  to  rejoice  before  the  Lord,  and 
to  lay  upon  his  altar  the  offerings  of  grateful  hearts  for  number- 
less blessings  enjoyed;  although  they  are  not  permitted  to  make 
it  a  day  of  fasting  or  public  mourning,  —  yet  it  cannot  be  improper 
or  inappropriate  to  recall  and  refle6t  upon  the  great  event  w^hich 
sits  so  heavily  upon  the  nation,  thereby  evincing  to  the  w^orld  that 
our  hearts  beat  in  unison  with  our  fellow-citizens  of  other  denom- 
inations; that,  although  a  peculiar  people  in  many  respefts,  we 
feel  ourselves  a  component  part  of  this  great  community  of  States, 
exulting  in  their  triumphs,  deploring  their  defeats,  rejoicing  in 
their  joys,  and  partaking  of  their  sorrows. 


*  Mr.  Jones  is  of  the  Jewish  persuasion,  and  has  always  been  an  adlive  political  opponent 
of  Mr.  Lincoln. 


Alfred  T.  J  ones  ^  Esq.  259 


By  commenting  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  the  people  are 
called  upon  this  day  to  yield  the  homage  due  to  his  exalted  sta- 
tion and  to  his  humble  virtues;  to  confess  the  common  debt  due 
to  him  by  mankind,  as  well  as  by  ourselves;  and  to  pronounce  to 
millions  yet  unborn  that  eulogium  which  will  re-echo  through  all 
time  to  come. 

But  can  one  who  has  warmly  and  earnestly  opposed  the  policy 
and  measures  of  Abraham  Lincoln  speak  kindly  of  him,  or  eulo- 
gize his  memory?  I  answer,  yes:  when  such  opposition  has  been 
promptly  solely  by  patriotic  considerations,  then  will  the  man  rise 
superior  to  the  partisan.  It  is  one  of  the  beautiful  traits  in  our 
national  chara6ler,  that,  after  the  rancor  of  partisan  contests  has 
passed  awa}',  men  readily  and  frankly  recognize  the  ennobling 
qualities  of  political  opponents. 

Like  all  who  have  attained  prominent  stations,  and  assumed 
the  responsibility  of  daring  enterprises  and  independent  measures, 
it  was  Mr.  Lincoln's  lot  to  see  many  of  his  a6ls  condemned,  and 
himself  reviled,  by  a  portion  of  his  fellow-citizens.  The  fire  of 
party  resentment  raged  around  him  with  unprecedented  violence, 
yet  he  remained  calm  and  unmoved  amid  the  uncontrolled  fury  of 
the  flames,  steadily  adhering  to,  and  pursuing,  the  measures  he 
deemed  best  adapted  to  the  true  interests  of  the  nation.  The 
grand  obje6t  of  his  administration,  and  which  has  encountered 
the  fiercest  opposition,  has  been  achieved.  Human  bondage  has 
been  virtually  banished  from  the  land.  The  inexorable  will  of 
the  majorit}',  and  the  exigences  of  the  times,  had  decreed  it;  and 
now  that  the  work  has  been  accomplished,  all  good  citizens 
should  gracefully  submit.  It  is  not  the  part  of  sensible  men  to 
reproach  and  cavil  at  the  past,  but  to  aid  in  reconstru6ting  and 
strengthening,  not  alone  the  national  Union,  but  also  that  unity 
of  feeling  among  our  countrymen  which  has  been  weakened,  but 
not  destroyed. 


26o  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

Prior  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  death,  a  change  had  come  over  the 
feelings  of  his  opponents.  It  seemed  as  if  He  whose  all-seeing 
eye  pervades  all  space,  penetrates  the  innermost  recesses  of  man's 
heart,  and  views  his  actions  before  they  are  conceived,  foreseeing 
the  awful  tragedy  about  to  be  ena6led,  was  in  reality  prepar- 
ing the  hearts  of  the  people  to  love  and  venerate  the  one  so  soon 
to  meet  a  martyr's  doom.  Many  weeks  before  that  fatal  day,  truly 
patriotic  men  of  all  shades  of  opinion,  in  all  parts  of  the  land,  had 
beo-un  to  reg^ard  Mr.  Lincoln  with  confidence  and  esteem. 

So  kind  and  conciliatory  an  attitude  had  he  assumed  towards 
our  enemies;  so  determined  and  honest  a  purpose  to  preserve  the 
integrity  of  the  nation  was  daily  exhibited;  so  firm-  and  unwaver- 
ing a  resistance  to  the  radical  measures  and  aims  of  political 
adherents  was  indisputably  manifested,  —  that  the  very  men  who 
had  resisted  his  eleftion  during  the  intense  excitements  of  two 
political  campaigns  were  constrained,  first,  to  place  implicit  faith 
in  his  patriotism,  and  integrity  of  purpose;  and,  next,  to  yield  a 
(perhaps  unwilling)  tribute  to  his  sound  judgment  and  ability. 

His  noble  qualities  inspired  their  confidence,  and  commanded 
their  respe6t. 

Nowhere  was  grief  more  unaffedled  and  sincere  than  in  the 
hearts  of  his  political  opponents.  No  more  unselfish  and  pro- 
found mourners  witnessed  the  sad  funeral  rites,  than  those  who 
had  honestly  opposed  his  measures;  and,  indeed,  the  entire  nation, 
as  with  a  single  heart  bursting  with  one  universal  sense  of  over- 
whelming grief,  with  one  wide.-spread  voice  of  sorrow,  gave  vent 
to  a  united  wail  of  horror  and  lament. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  public  career  is  well  known,  and  has  been  of 
late  continually  referred  to.  I  need  not  speak  of  it.  With  but 
limited  education,  through  indomitable  perseverance  and  self- 
reliance,  he  rose  gradually  on  the  ladder  of  life,  from  the  humblest 
round  to  the  topmost  pinnacle.     Strong  and  clear  in  intelle6l,  he 


Alfred  T.  Jozies ^  Esq.  261 

grasped  at  the  questions  of  the  day  with  surprising  vigor.  No 
fatigue  was  too  great  for  his  iron  frame;  no  labor  too  much  for 
his  indomitable  will.  Though  he  may  not  have  possessed  the 
dazzling  talents  of  some  of  his  predecessors,  or  the  courtly  man- 
ners and  stately  dignity  of  others,  yet  he  was  one  of  "  God's 
noblest  works." 

What  he  said,  he  meant,  and  on  that  all  could  rely.  Plain  and 
unassuming  in  his  manner,  he  was  kind,  courteous,  and  affable  to 
all,  and  full  of  generous  impulses.  It  was  this  latter  trait  in  his 
chara6ter  of  which  his  enemies  took  advantage,  and  which  his 
friends  most  feared. 

No  one  so  humble  but  that  he  gave  him  audience;  accessible 
to  all,  he  seemed  indeed  to  feel  that  he  was  in  the  stead  of  father 
to  his  people.  If  he  had  no  higher  claims  upon  us,  certainly  as 
Israelites  we  should  entertain  a  high  regard  for  his  memory. 

While  many  occupying  high  positions  have  either  ignored  our 
existence,  or  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  our  claims  for  prote6tion  or 
redress,  his  just,  kind,  and  generous  nature  was  never  appealed  to 
by  us  in  vain.  On  every  occasion  (and  he  has  been  several  times 
appealed  to)  he  promptly  recognized  our  claims  as  a  religious 
body  to  national  prote6lion,  and  acceded  unhesitatingly  to  all  our 
just  demands.  So  strong  and  noble  a  contrast  to  others  did  he 
exhibit  in  this  respect",  that  we  should  be  guilty  of  gross  ingrati- 
tude not  to  acknowledge  it. 

On  his  accession  to  power,  he  found  the  country  involved  in  a 
formidable  and  unjustifiable  rebellion.  Of  the  cause  or  condu6t 
of  the  war,  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  speak.  There  have  been  wide 
differences  of  opinion  agitating  the  public  mind,  inseparable  from 
contests  of  that  nature,  where  those  of  kindred  birth  have  been 
arrayed  against  each  other.  Bitter  words  have  been  uttered  and 
written.  While  many  are  disposed  to  censure  him  for  errors  com- 
mitted, for  harsh  measures  pursued,  or  extraordinary  proceedings 


262  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

instituted,  they  should  refle6t  on  the  trying  difficulties  continually 
encountered,  the  existence  of  unknown  and  deadly  foes  in  the 
very  heart  of  the  capital;  untried  men  necessarily  placed  in 
responsible  commands,  and,  proving  incompetent,  replaced  by 
others;  continued  pressure  by  radical  extremists  among  his  poli- 
tical adherents,  and  other  innumerable  perplexities. 

As  events  progressed,  however,  he  became  better  appreciated, 
because  better  understood.  Gigantic  as  was  his  task,  he  shrank 
not  from  it;  but,  with  a  firm  self-reliance,  with  determination  to 
pursue  the  course  he  deemed  a  corre6l  and  righteous  one,  "  with 
firmness  in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,"  he 
overcame  difficulties  apparently  insurmountable,  and,  with  un- 
wavering confidence  in  the  justice  of  his  cause,  pursued  it 
unfalteringly  to  its  final  triumphant  issue. 

Most  great  men  owe  their  great  renown  to  opportunity,  and 
times  of  greatest  calamity  often  serve  to  develop  the  greatest 
minds.  It  was  opportunity  which  framed  and  created  Abraham 
Lincoln.  Prior  to  the  four  eventful  years  of  his  presidential  term 
he  was  comparatively  unknown;  but,  in  that  short  epoch  of  his 
existence,  he  earned  an  imperishable  fame.  Truly  do  "  we  live 
in  deeds,  not  years,"  for  centuries  of  life  could  not  more  indelibly 
have  written  his  name  among  the  illustrious  ones  of  history. 

What  tongue  can  explain  the  mysterious  fate  which  reigns  on 
earth;  or  why  the  great  Ruler  of  all,  in  his  inscrutable  providence 
and  infinite  wisdom,  has  permitted  the  accomplishment  of  the 
appalling  crime  which  our  country  deplores?  "He  doeth  all 
things  well."  No  mortal  eye  can  penetrate  the  tortuous  paths  of 
joy  and  woe  through  which  man's  feet  must  wander,  nor  fathom 
the  incomprehensible  decrees  of  heaven;  so,  while  we  see  in  our 
affliction  nought  but  dire  calamity,  we  know  not  what  gi-eat 
purpose  it  is  intended  to  subserve,  and  which  the  future  may 
develop. 


Alfred  Zl  Jones ^  Esq.  263 


Thus  far,  it  has  chastened  our  joy  in  the  hour  of  triumph.  It 
has  caused  all  loyal  men  to  cease  political  strife,  and  devote  them- 
selves to  strengthening  the  hands  of  Government,  and  to  yielding 
a  firm  and  united  support  to  his  successor;  and  certainly  the  time 
and  manner  of  his  death  has  immortalized  the  memory  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  and  on  the  pages  of  our  history  he  stands  recorded  as  a 
patriot  and  a  martyr.  Had  he  died  but  a  few  months  earlier,  after 
a  brief  space  of  mourning  the  memory  of  his  loss  w^ould  have 
passed  away  to  be  simply  placed  on  record  among  the  annals  of 
the  times. 

But  the  crowning  aft  of  his  life  had  been  completed;  a  war 
unprecedented- in  magnitude  and  withering  desolation  had  been 
brought  to  a  successful  issue:  the  entire  nation  stood  in  admiring 
gaze  at  the  noble  magnanimity  of  his  course  towards  a  defeated 
and  unscrupulous  foe,  when,  on  that  ever  memorable  night,  the 
assassin's  bullet  sped  with  unerring  aim  upon  its  fatal  mission. 

The  fourteenth  day  of  April !  Terrible  day  in  the  annals  of 
our  country.  How  pregnant  with  important  events  to  the  Ameri- 
can people  is  that  memorable  month!  On  April  19,  1775,  on  the 
fields  of  Lexington  and  Concord,  the  first  blood  was  shed  in  the 
War  of  Independence.  On  the  nineteenth  day  of  April,  1783, 
just  eight  years  afterwards,  peace  was  proclaimed  in  the 
American  army.  On  the  14th  of  April,  1861,  Fort  Sumter  was 
surrendered  to  the  rebel  forces ;  and  five  days  afterwards  the  Mas- 
sachusetts soldiers  were  inhumanly  murdered  in  the  streets  of 
Baltimore. 

How  brightly  opened  the  early  days  of  that  eventful  month  in 
1865.  Four  years  of  bloody  warfare,  with  its  attendant  vicissi- 
tudes and  horrors,  had  passed,  when  came  the  joyful  tidings  of 
the  evacuation  of  Petersburg;  then  quickly  followed  the  flight 
of  our  enemies  from  Richmond;  next,  the  unconditional  surren- 
der of  the  rebel  army  and  its  greatest  general. 


264  Eulogies^  Speeches^  and  Letters. 

What  a  universal  jubilee  prevailed  throughout  the  loyal 
States !  Joy  sat  enthroned  on  every  countenance ;  each  glance 
shone  w^ith  expe6lation  bright;  friend  greeted  friend  with  heart- 
felt w^armth;  political  opponents,  with  united  hands,  joined  in  the 
universal  exultation;  women  wept  for  joy,  and  children  shouted 
in  exuberant  delight.  Where'er  the  eye  could  reach,  the  beloved 
banner  of  the  free  floated  gaily  in  the  breeze;  the  bells  chimed 
forth  their  merry  peals,  and  the  blaze  of  joyous  lights,  enlivening 
night's  darkened  shades,  attested  a  grateful  people's  joy.  Victory, 
bloodless  and  complete,  bright  harbinger  of  sweet  and  gentle 
Peace,  announced  her  welcome  coming. 

Thus  was  it  when  the  sun  sank  to  rest  on  the  eve  of  the  four- 
teenth day  of  April;  but  on  the  advent  of  the  following  morn  how 
changed  the  scene!  What  rumors,  gathering  sound,  fall  on  the 
ear!  O'er  the  eleftric  wire,  from  shore  to  shore,  sped  the  dread 
tidings, — our  ruler  slain!  Hushed  were  the  sounds  of  revelry  and 
mirth;  mute  was  each  voice,  and  tearful  every  eye;  mournfully 
waved  the  gay  flags  in  the  bright  light  of  day,  decked  in  the 
sombre  emblems  of  grief;  stilled  were  the  pealing  chimes,  while 
in  their  stead  the  solemn  requiem  knell  fell  heavily  on  the  heart. 

Fell  messenger  of  death!  could  no  presaging  sign,  no  warn- 
ing voice,  announce  thy  coming?  Swift  and  unforeseen,  like  the 
lightning's  flash,  thou  camest  when  least  expected,  and  threw  thy 
lengthened  shade  over  years  to  come.  Doubtless  you  all  can 
recolle6t  your  own  sensation  at  hearing  the  sad  intelligence;  but 
never,  while  memory  retains  her  seat,  can  I  forgot  my  own. 
Little  beings  that  I  love  ran  into  my  room,  their  eyes  beaming 
with  consternation  and  concern,  exclaiming,  "  Mr.  Lincoln  has 
been  killed !  "  I  grasped  the  paper  that  they  bore,  glanced  at  the 
fatal  words,  and,  opponent  as  I  was,  the  unbidden  tear  would 
start.  I  wept  to  think  of  the  kind-hearted  ruler  so  inhumanly 
murdered;  wept,  that  beneath  the  sacred  banner  of  our  country 


Alfred  T.  Jojies^  Esq.  265 

wretches  so  vile  as  these  assassins  had  been  born  and  nurtured; 
wept  when  I  refle6led  on  the  unparalleled  crime,  and  the  inefface- 
able stain  infli6led  on  our  nation's  fair  escutcheon. 

And,  as  the  day  sped  on,  the  multitudes,  with  awe-struck  hearts, 
thronged  the  busy  streets  with  saddened  mien,  as  if  within  each 
home  the  destroying  angel  had  set  his  stamp  of  woe.  Why  was 
his  loss  thus  mourned?  Other  precious  lives  have  fallen  vi6lims 
to  insatiate  war:  he  was  but  one  of  the  people,  temporarily 
intrusted  with  power  and  authorit3\  True.  Many  a  bright  exist- 
ence has  been  quenched  in  the  glow  and  fulness  of  its  prime. 
We  have  lost  heroes  upon  the  field  of  battle;  we  have  mourned 
when  soaring  genius  died  in  mid  career:  but,  in  the  humble  spirit 
that  had  fled,  the  hopes  of  millions  were  centred. 

The  destinies  of  the  nation  were  in  his  keeping:  powers 
never  before  conferred  had  been  invested  in  him;  and,  at  the 
moment  of  his  death,  he  held  within  his  grasp  the  mightiest  desti- 
nies man  ever  controlled.  Upon  the  utterance  of  his  thoughts 
and  will  the  Republic's  future  rested.  On  him  was  riveted  the 
nation's  gaze  as  on  a  radiant  and  worshipped  shrine,  watching 
with  fearful  anxiety  the  close  of  the  great  work  of  pacification  so 
auspiciously  commenced. 

He  was  the  typical  Father  of  the  Republic,  the  great  head  of 
the  nation;  and  for  him,  as  such,  we  mourned. 

No  event  of  this  nature  that  ever  occurred  on  earth  has 
created  such  intense  and  wide-spread  regret.  While  our  own 
great  nation  mourned  its  illustrious  Chief,  and  ere  his  remains  had 
reached  the  sepulchre,  all  Europe  was  ele6trified  with  the  sad 
intelligence.  Wonderful  and  unaffected  were  the  evidences  of 
sympathy  and  grief  wherever  Civilization  has  her  home.  The 
masses,  the  nobles,  the  monarchs  of  the  world,  paid  homage  to 
the  memory  of  that  honest,  humble  man.  Americans  may  well 
be  gratified,  and  feel  an  honest  pride  in  this   great  tribute  to   his 

34 


266  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

sterling  worth  and  unpretending  virtues,  as  well  as  to  the  impor- 
tant position  our  Republic  holds  among  the  powers  of  the  earth. 

No  funeral  pageant  that  the  world  has  ever  witnessed  ap- 
proached in  grandeur  that  which  attended  the  coffined  body  of  the 
illustrious  dead.  Never  were  such  heartfelt  honors  paid  to  any 
potentate.  Slowly  and  sadly  was  he  borne  through  the  heart  of 
this  great  nation  to  his  final  resting-place  in  the  mighty  West, 
amid  the  silent,  tearful  homage  of  millions  of  his  fellow-citizens. 

Marbled  monuments,  with  grateful  inscriptions,  may  arise; 
statues  of  bronze  may  attest  the  love  of  his  people  to  future  ages : 
but  the  memory  of  his  a6ls,  the  triumph  of  his  policy,  and  his  cruel 
death,  will  raise  a  monument  within  the  hearts  of  the  present 
generation  that  will  endure  while  life  or  memory  shall  last. 

Springing  from  the  people,  and  raised  by  his  exertions  from 
the  humblest  station  to  the  proudest  rank  on  earth,  he  was  a 
noble  representative  of  true  American  chara6ter.  To  his  career 
every  American  youth  should  point  with  admiration.  It  is  our 
duty  to  extol  the  virtues  of  our  great  men,  and  strive  to  emulate 
their  good  deeds. 

The  clamors  of  war  have  ceased:  that  fell  destroying  power, 
to  which  the  lives  of  thousands  have  been  sacrificed,  which  has 
raged  over  many  a  verdant  plain,  and  desolated  many  a  happy 
hearth,  has  been  at  length  allayed. 

And  now,  hail,  blessed  Peace!  Once  more  unclouded  will  she 
shine  upon  us,  as  bright  and  cheering  in  her  rays  as  the  fair  orb 
of  day:  man  will  no  longer  seek  to  destroy  his  brother  man;  nor 
shall  the  tender  eye  of  Pity  shrink  from  Vi6lory's  crimsoned  ban- 
ners. No  longer  shall  the  streets  of  beleagured  cities  echo  with 
the  cries  of  pursuers  and  pursued,  nor  the  azure  vault  of  heaven 
be  illuminated  with  the  glare  of  peaceful  homes  fired  by  the  relent- 
less torch.  No  longer  shall  rich  harvests.  Heaven's  noble  bounty 
to  ungrateful  man,  be  trampled  and  destroyed  by  invading  hosts, 


Alfred  T.  Jones ^  Esq.  267 

while  gaunt  famine  and  pale  distress  follow  their  desolating  steps. 
Hail,  blessed  Peace!  Again  will  the  busy  hum  of  industr}'  be 
heard  over  our  wide  domain;  again  will  the  plough  of  the  husband- 
man glide  tranquilly  over  fields  now  blasted  with  the  fires  of  war, 
while  a  bright  and  glorious  future  dawns  upon  us. 

Doubtless  within  the  breast  of  our  martyred  President  arose 
many  a  bright  anticipation  of  tranquil  and  happy  times  approach- 
ing. Guided  in  all  his  a6ls  "  with  malice  toward  none,  with 
charity  to  all,"  no  undue  exultation  over  vanquished  foes  pervaded 
his  kind  and  noble  heart;  but  it  glowed  with  a  quiet  joy  and 
Heaven-dire6led  gratitude  that  his  work  had  nearly  ended,  and 
that,  beneath  his  guidance,  quiet  and  happiness  was  once  more 
about  to  bless  his  country. 

In  my  address  to  you,  I  have  confined  myself  solely  to  eulo- 
gizing the  memory  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  The  moral  and  religious 
instruction  to  be  gleaned  from  the  various  circumstances  attend- 
ing his  cruel  death  have  been  eloquently  dwelt  upon  on  former 
occasions  by  our  respefted  minister,  far  more  ably,  and  by  fitter 
lips  than  mine. 

According  to  the  will  of  the  everlasting  King,  our  President 
has  been  taken  from  this  earth.  May  the  great  God  of  Israel 
have  mercy  on  his  soul!  may  he  pardon  his  iniquities,  and  keep 
his  good  deeds  ever  in  his  sight!  In  the  language  of  our  beauti- 
ful ritual,  "  May  his  soul  enter  the  resting-place  of  the  patriarchs ! 
may  our  God  guide  him  to  the  cherubim;  and  may  he  be  decreed 
the  happiness  of  paradise!  May  the  repose  established  in  the 
celestial  abode,  a  forgiveness  of  trespasses,  favor  from  Him  that 
throneth  on  high,  and  a  goodly  portion  in  the  life  to  come,  be 
the  resting-place  and  the  reward  "  of  Abraham  Lincoln ! 

Philadelphia  I?iquircr,  June  2,  1865. 


ORATION    BY   REV.    HORATIO    STEBBINS: 


DELIVERED    AT    SAN    FRANCISCO,    CAL.,    APRIL    I9,     1S65. 


AFFLICTED  PEOPLE  !  —  In  pathetic  imagination  we  have 
taken  up  our  march,  following  the  dead  corpse  of  our  great 
leader,  till  at  length  we  are  come  beneath  this  prote6ling  canopy, 
reared  like  a  sky  above  the  arts  and  industries  of  a  great  people. 
Little  did  we  think,  when  from  the  vigor  of  abundant  life  we 
extemporized  this  edifice,  and  in  very  play  of  childhood  lifted 
this  dome  toward  the  sky,  that  it  was  to  give  us  such  shelter, 
and  receive  such  consecration.  Sweeter  than  the  odor  of  all 
pleasant  fruits,  more  precious  than  the  wine  of  the  vintage, 
more  beautiful  than  the  work  of  the  cunning  artificer,  this  tender 
and  reverent  respe6l,  this  aroma  of  a  people's  tears.  Oh  temple 
of  peace,  in  a  land  of  war!  open  wide  thy  gates,  that  the 
men  of  the  city  may  weep  at  thine  altars  for  .  the  sorrow  of 
the  land! 

Our  great  leader  still  leads  us  well;  for  we  keep  time,  in  our 
march,  with  the  throbs  of  that  precious  heart  which,  though  it  has 
ceased  to  beat  in  the  breast  which  bore  it,  still  sways  the  tides 
within  us  as  the  sea  sways  beneath  the  stars.  It  is  the  qualit}^  of 
all  lofty  virtue,  and  distinguished  excellence  of  public  administra- 
tion, to  be  embodied  in  principles,  sentiments,  and  convi6tions, 
which  appeal  to  all  men  on  the  broad  ground  of  reason  and  truth. 


Rev.  Horatio  Stcbbins.  269 

All  great  and  good  rulers  are  the  representatives  of  ideas  and 
principles  which  lie  very  near  the  common  heart.  The  wise 
and  beneficent  ruler  of  a  State  enters  into  that  humanit}^  over 
whose  life  he  is  called  to  preside.  Men  call  him  theirs  by  kin- 
dred tie  of  universal  justice.  They  say  they  love  him  because  by 
happy  instinft.  They  know  that  the  fountains  of  his  soul  are  in 
the  mountain  summits  of  the  same  truth  with  theirs.  His  life  is 
in  some  sense  the  life  of  mankind,  —  the  personification  of  the 
best  hopes  and  the  best  beliefs  of  men. 

When  such  an  one  is  brought  from  gi'eat  elevation,  meekly 
borne  for  the  good  of  men,  to  join  the  great  equality  of  death,  he 
seems  greater  to  our  minds  in  that  equality  than  in  his  exaltation; 
for  the  powers  that  made  him  dear  to  us  then  are  set  free  in  us, 
and  through  our  tears  we  see  the  setting  glories  of  our  love. 
Among  all  imposing  scenes  and  events  of  which  the  earth  is  the 
theatre,  the  most  sublime  is  a  nation  in  tears,  —  in  tears  for  a  man 
who  represented  its  principles,  and  to  whom  it  had  confided  its 
noblest  trusts.  It  testifies  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  public 
faith ;  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  the  public  good ;  that  there  are 
principles  of  justice,  honor,  and  truth,  which  sway  all  hearts,  which 
are  worth  living  for,  and  which  are  worth  dying  for.  It  testifies 
that  while  good  men  die,  wept  and  honored,  principles  have  an 
unending  life,  pervading  humanity,  and  passing  from  man  to  man, 
from  generation  to  generation,  and  from  age  to  age;  and,  while 
we  join  to-day  the  vast  procession  of  a  nation's  sorrow,  we  find 
comfort  and  consolation  in  the  thought  that  we  stand  also  in  that 
other  procession,  whose  ever-onward  motion  is  the  progress  of 
mankind. 

We  have  been  obliged  to  reconcile  our  minds  as  best  we 
could  to  the  relentless  fa6t  that  the  President  is  dead,  and  that  he 
died  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin.  At  first,  the  shock  was  too  great 
to  bear.     The  mind  could  not  admit  the  fa6t,  with  all  its  attendant 


270  Eulogies^  Speeches^  and  Letters. 

appalling  circumstances,  as  a  part  of  its  intelligence;  but  we  are 
so  constituted,  that  whatever  is  we  must  confess,  and  no  success- 
ful defence  can  be  made  against  the  patient  persuasions  of  reason. 
The  death  of  the  President,  had  it  come  b}^  divine  appointment 
unmixed  with  human  instrumentality;  had  he  died  in  his  own 
house,  upon  his  own  bed,  surrounded  by  all  the  charities  which 
bless  the  last  moments  of  earthly  existence,  —  it  could  have  been 
received  and  borne  with  a  certain  patience,  and  equanimity  of 
mortal  anguish.  We  could  have  said,  "  Death  has  all  privilege, 
and  the  freedom  of  the  earthly  realm." 

But  when  the  shock  of  this  dark  wickedness  is  over,  and  the 
mind  assumes  its  serenity  once  more;  looks  out  upon  the  world  of 
thought  and  life;  thinks,  compares,  reasons,  and  judges, — the  first 
intelligent  impression  it  receives  from  refle6lion  is  a  sudden  sur- 
prise at  its  own  former  shock  and  wonder.  Why  should  the 
assassination  of  the  President  fill  us  with  astonishment  and  dis- 
may? If  I  am  told  that  it  is  the  appalling  crime  at  which  the 
blood  congeals,  I  reply,  that  it  is  of  the  same  nature  with  that 
power  against  which  we  contend,  every  throb  of  whose  life  is  a 
crime  against  mankind.  The  assassin  is  the  finest,  the  intensest 
expression  of  organized  barbaric  passions.  Defeated  in  princi- 
ples, and  compelled  to  retreat  before  the  smallest  ray  of  truth,  he 
lets  loose  his  insane  rage  upon  persons.  Never  did  assassin's 
blow  strike  so  noble  a  head;  yet  never  did  assassin's  blow  fall 
so  helpless.  What  crime  has  not  the  rebel  power  committed? 
It  would  seem,  from  the  shock  to  our  sensibilities,  that  we  were 
not  aroused  to  the  enormit}^  of  that  wickedness  until  we  had 
seen  it  displayed  in  all  its  infernal  intensity  of  malignant  passions. 
The  plot  to  murder  the  President  —  whether  it  be  intrigue  and 
conspiracy  of  individuals,  or  whether  it  be  the  design  of  the  rebel 
powers  —  is  of  the  same  quality  as  the  rebellion  itself,  and  has 
its  roots  there.    The  assassin  carried  the  same  fire  that  first  flashed 


Rev.  Horatio  Stebbins.  271 

the  lurid  glare  of  war  upon  the  sky  at  Sumter,  and  the  same 
perfidy  in  his  breast,  with  Davis  and  Floyd  and  Breckinridge. 
The  import  and  meaning  of  the  assassination  are  not  any  qualifi- 
cation of  the  death  of  the  President,  —  not  any  new  element  of 
embarrassment  in  the  fun6tions  of  government;  but  it  is  the  strong 
flash  of  light  which  it  throws  into  the  sunless  caverns  of  perfidy 
and  wrong  in  the  powers  against  which  we  contend.  Did  we 
need  such  an  admonition  ?  I  will  not  forestall  Providence  by 
saying  that  we  did  not.  Of  one  thing  I  am  sure:  the  philosophic 
historian  will  record  with  pungent  moral  satire  the  insensibility 
of  the  American  people  to  the  deep  wrongs  of  human  slavery. 
He  will  record  too,  that,  dStox  years  of  devastating  war,  there  were 
still  some  of  moral  dulness  so  great,-  and  political  sagacity  so 
short-sighted,  that  it  required  the  blood  of  the  President,  drawn 
by  the  hand  of  a  hired  assassin,  hired  by  the  power  with  which 
they  would  strike  hands,  to  rouse  them  to  the  awful  realities  of 
outraged  laws,  and  to  feel  the  presence  of  events  such  as  inaugu- 
rate new  eras. 

Men  are  mightier  in  their  death  than  in  their  life  when  they 
die  exponents  of  principles  that  live  for  ever.  If  it  is  true  that 
nations  have  no  immortality,  it  is  for  the  same  reason  that  the 
human  body  has  none.  Its  forms  are  too  gross  to  sustain  that 
exalted  intelle6lual  and  moral  life.  But  they  are  the  theatre  for 
the  display  of  all  that  is  human;  and  nothing  human  ever  dies. 
They  are  a  part  of  an  almighty  and  benignant  purpose  for  the 
education  of  man;  and  whatever  mingles  in  that  stream  is  perpet- 
ual. Our  intelligence  refers  this  universe  to  the  government  of  a 
Power  all-mighty,  all-wise,  and  all-good.  Our  religious  faith 
rests  in  that,  by  moral  instincts  as  natural  as  those  which  lead  a 
child  to  cling  to  its  mother;  and  we  are  not  permitted  to  believe 
that  any  wild  and  random  power  of  evil  is  let  loose  upon  the 
earth.     The  assassin  is   the  most  malignant  and  hideous  form  of 


272  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 


human  passions;  and,  as  he  sele6ls  his  vi6tim  by  the  caprice 
of  bad  powers,  it  seems  that  his  success  is  the  triumph  of  unmiti- 
gated evil.  But  that  dagger  ma}^  point  in  the  dark  to  principles 
that  men  have  imperfectly  comprehended,  and  bring  out  clearer 
still  the  latent  meaning  of  ideas  and  events,  as  night  reveals  the 
upper  deep  of  stars  afid  space. 

The  President,  for  himself,  indeed,  is  not  unfortunate  in  his 
death;  though  we  cannot  in  imagination  look  on  that  dear  heart, 
drooping  and  heavy  under  the  blow  of  the  assassin,  without 
a  shock  to  our  sensibilities.  If  we  contemplate  him  in  that  event 
which  comes  alike  to  all,  wx  must  indeed  feel  that  his  was  a 
singular  felicity,  by  which  he  was  enabled  to  win  a  place  as 
preserver  of  States,  and  benefa6tor  of  mankind,  not  less  than  to 
make  himself  secure  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.  We  should 
indeed  have  wished  that  he  might  have  lived  to  see  the  Republic 
once  more  united  and  happy;  and  at  length,  returning  as  an 
American  citizen  to  the  place  from  whence  the  people  called 
him,  he  might  have  passed  the  mellow  autumn  days  in  the  ripen- 
ing glor}'  of  the  people's  love.  But  since,  in  the  inscrutable 
providence  of  God,  he  was  to  be  taken  from  our  sight  on  swift 
chariot  of  fire  and  blood,  let  us  lift  up  our  minds  to  him  as  he 
sits  among  the  immortals,  victorious  over  the  pains  of  death,  and 
powers  of  hell;  and  from  that  throne,  exceeding  high  and  lifted 
up,  let  him  still  sw^ay  the  empire  of  our  loyal  hearts. 

Concerning  our  country,  let  us  be  as  strong  men,  who  beneath 
their  tears  can  hide  the  thunders  of  an  unconquered  will,  and  the 
consecrated  powers  of  justice  and  truth.  We  have  new  cause  of 
gratitude  in  the  principles  of  our  Government,  that  they  are  not  an 
arbitrary  enactment,  but  live  in  the  people's  love.  Let  us  gird 
on  our  armor,  and,  following  the  lead  of  our  immortal  President, 
"  if  God  wills  that  the  war  continue  until  all  the  wealth  piled  by 
the  bondsmen  in  two  hundred   and  fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil 


Rev.  Horatio  Stcbbins. 


273 


shall  be  sunk,  and  .until*  every  drop  of  blood  drawn  with  the 
lash  shall  be  paid  by  another  drawn  with  the  sword,  as  was  said 
three  thousand  years  ago," — so  let  us  say,  that  "  the  judgments 
of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  altogether." 

Steamer  Bulletin^  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  April  22,  1S65. 


35 


'1^, 


r>mmmm 


SPEECH    OF    REV.  JOSEPH    P.    THOMPSON,  D.D.: 

AT    THE    UNION    LEAGUE     CLUB,    UNION     SQUARE,    NEW    YORK,    APRIL     15,     1S65. 


I  HAD  thought  that  we  had  ah-eady  derived  from  this  war  all 
the  lessons  that  it  was  designed  to  teach,  whether  by  its  dis- 
cipline of  suffering  and  sacrifice,  or  its  fruits  of  triumph  and 
rejoicing,  —  lessons  of  humiliation,  lessons  of  patience,  lessons 
of  endurance,  lessons  of  courage,  lessons  of  faith,  of  hope,  of 
beneficence,  and  lessons  of  ever-growing  confidence  in  our  Gov- 
ernment and  in  Almighty  God.  But  it  seems  that  that  voice 
and  holy  Providence  which  has  guided  us  at  every  step  of  the  war 
had  yet  other  lessons  for  the  nation,  the  necessity  and  the  fitness 
of  which  we  recognize  to-day.  First,  amid  the  rejoicings  of  vic- 
tory, and  the  feelings  of  magnanimity  and  forbearance  called  forth 
by  the  humiliation  of  the  enemy,  there  was  needed  one  final  reve- 
lation of  the  atrocity  of  this  treason,  at  which  the  nation  and  the 
civilized  world  should  stand  aghast.  From  first  to  last  this  conspi- 
racy has  been  one  stupendous  crime,  without  plea  of  ignorance  or 
of  provocation,  and  without  a  shadow  of  justifying  motive;  but  it 
was  left  for  its  expiring  hours  to  unveil  to  us  the  horrible  depths 
of  its  atrocity.  For,  whatever  the  motive  or  impulse  of  the  assas- 
sins, they  represent  the  spirit  of  the  conspiracy.  Vanquished  in 
the  field,  its  pretence  of  a  government  overthrown,  its  military 
power  broken,  its  political  leaders  fugitive,  its  finances  scattered 
to  the  winds,  it  comes  with  stealthy  tread  into  the  scenes  of  socia 


Rev.  yoseph  P.  Thompson,  D.D.  275 

festivity,  and  from  behind  drives  the  bullet  of  the  assassin  through 
the  head  of  the  mildest,  gentlest  of  men,  as  he  sits  beside  his  wife 
in  a  circle  of  friends;  and  then,  with  an  infamy  yet  more  horrible, 
it  invades  the  sacred  chamber  of  sickness,  the  awful  san6lity  of 
impending  death,  and  there  butchers  a  feeble,  maimed  old  man, 
upon  his  bed.  It  is  the  monster  crime  of  history.  Yet  it  was 
needful  that  this  conspiracy  should  thus  reveal  itself  for  the  final, 
righteous  condemnation  of  the  civilized  world.  Henceforth  all 
nations  will  know  with  what  we  have  have  been  dealing  in  these 
four  weary  and  terrible  years. 

The  nation  needed  another  lesson  of  unity,  which  could  be 
learned  only  through  a  great  sympathetic  sorrow.  We  bow 
to-day  before  the  majesty  of  sorrow,  and  feel  that  we  are  one. 
We  have  felt  the  spontaneous  thrill  of  patriotism,  when  the  vast 
area  in  front  of  this  building  was  thronged  with  citizens  outraged 
at  the  fall  of  Sumter.  We  have  felt  the  sympathetic  throb  of 
common  dangers,  and  have  been  pressed  together  by  our  perils 
and  our  fears.  And  we  have  felt  also  the  thrill  of  exultation,  and 
the  community  of  joy.  But  nothing  so  fuses  and  welds  human 
souls  together  as  participation  in  some  great  sorrow.  Henceforth 
our  souls  are  one.  Even  the  tone  of  opposition  journals  has  been 
melted  to-day  into  the  pathos  of  this  mighty  grief  Henceforth 
this  nation  is  fused  into  one,  in  the  crucible  of  calamity,  and  is 
cemented  by  the  blood  of  its  Head. 

A  third  lesson  impressed  upon  us  to-day  is  the  imperishable 
vitality  of  Government,  and  the  grandeur  of  our  Constitution 
under  all  emergencies.  We  have  seen  it  tested  in  conflift  with 
foreign  powers;  we  have  seen  it  tested  by  the  fearful  strain  of 
civil  war,  and  by  the  scarce  less  anxious  trial  of  a  presidential 
election  in  the  midst  of  war,  —  and  it  has  stood.  And  now,  under 
this  severest  shock,  —  a  shock  that  might  shatter  a  kingdom  or  an 
empire  into  chaos,  —  it  still  stands. 


276  Eulogies^  Speeches^  and  Letters. 

That  mysterious,  invisible,  impalpable  entity,  we  call  the 
State,  —  that  intangible  something,  that  we  call  Government, 
stands  forth  to-day  in  awful  reality. 

The  sovereignty  of  the  people  lifts  its  next  representative  into 
the  just-vacant  chair. 

The  State  moves  on,  w^ithout  pause  at  the  nation's  grief,  — 
without  concussion  from  the  blow  that  struck  down  the  nation's 
Head. 

The  bullet  and  knife  of  the  assassin  did  not  touch  its  vitality. 
The  life  of  the  Constitution  was  not  endang-ered.  The  State 
moves  calmly,  steadily  onw^ard,  with  no  jar  in  any  of  its  fun6tions. 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  statue  of  Liberty  which  crowns  the  dome 
of  the  Capitol,  —  that  worthy  and  typical  memorial  of  Abraham 
Lincoln's  administration,  —  looking  calmly  down  upon  the  august 
presence  of  death,  beckoned  to  the  State  beyond,  saying,  -^  Let 
the  dead  bury  their  dead:  follow  thou  me."  And  the  State 
moved  on,  and  will  move  on,  in  the  line  of  freedom  and  of 
justice,  unshaken  for  ever. 

Such  are  the  diredl  teachings  of  this  providence.  The  time, 
the  men,  the  manner,  all  conspired  to  make  these  lessons  most 
impressive. 

The  time:  just  when  the  power  of  the  conspiracy  was 
broken;  just  when  Abraham  Lincoln's  policy  and  fame  had 
rounded  into  fulness;  just  when  there  was  no  furthur  hope  from 
organized  resistance  to  the  Government,  —  came  this  wanton 
cruelty  of  revenge.  The  men:  the  two  men  in  all  this  nation 
whose  personal  tone  and  spirit  were  least  obnoxious  to  the  rebels, 
whose  forbearance  and  mildness  were  stretched  to  the  utmost 
limits  of  our  charity,- — these  are  the  men  thus  butchered  for 
sustaining  Government  and  law.  The  manner:  had  the  President 
fallen  by  the  bullet  of  a  marksman  when  he  was  at  the  front,  or 
by  the  dagger  of  an  assassin  at  Richmond,  our  grief  at  his  loss 


Rev.  Joseph  P.  Thompson^  D.D.  277 

would  have  been  mingled  with  regret  for  the  needless  exposure. 
But  this  crime,  perpetrated  in  a  place  presumed  to  be  safe  from 
violence,  and  at  an  hour  devoted  to  festivity,  and  repeated  at  the 
bed  of  death,  makes  these  lessons  stand  out  before  us  in  chara6ters 
of  blood. 

This  is  not  the  time  for  eulogy  of  the  illustrious  men  whose 
names  are  blended  in  this  sorrow.  For  Mr.  Seward,  I  shall  not 
anticipate  the  tribute  of  history.  He  himself  has  anticipated  its 
verdi6t  in  his  speeches  in  the  great  debates  on  slavery,  in  the 
Senate.  In  one  of  these  he  gives  this  as  the  rule  adopted  for 
the  government  of  this  condu6l:  — 

"  Let  thj  scope 
Be  one  fixed  mind  for  all :  thy  rights  approve 
To  thy  own  conscience,  gradually  renewed  : 
Learn  to  make  Time  the  father  of  wise  Hope; 
Then  trust  thy  cause  to  the  arm  of  Fortitude, 
The  light  of  Knowledge,  and  the  warmth  of  Love."  * 

And,  in  a  speech  against  the  iniquity  of  fastening  slavery  upon 
Kansas,  you  remember  that,  forecasting  a  period  of  fifty,  of  one 
hundred,  of  two  hundred  years,  he  summoned  before  him  the 
millions  who  would  be  affe6led  by  the  a6tion  of  that  hour.  "  I 
shall  not  meet  them,"  he  said,  "here  on  the  earth;  but  I  shall  meet 
them  all  on  that  day  when  I  shall  give  up  the  final  account  of  that 
stewardship  which  my  country  has  confided  to  me."  Then,  enu- 
merating the  various  considerations  arising  from  his  early  patri- 
otic and  Christian  training,  his  study  of  history,  his  political 
observation  and  experience,  he  added,  "  If  I  were  now  to  consent 
to  such  an  a6t,  I  should  be  obliged,  when  that  last  day  shall  come 
to  me,  to  call  upon  the  rocks  and  the  mountains  to  fall  upon  me, 
and  crush  me  and  my  name,  detested  then  by  myself.,  into  endless 
oblivion."  Then,  in  the  name  of  the  Constitution,  of  justice,  and 
of  humanity,   protesting  against  the   crime,   he  took  his  solemn 


278  Eulogies^  Speeches^  and  Letters. 

appeal  to  the  great  Searcher  of  hearts;  and  there  we  may  safely 
leave  him  as  he  hangs  trembling  on  the  verge  of  eternity. 

Of  the  chara6ter  and  virtues  of  the  President,  it  is  not  necessary 
that  I  should  speak.  We  had  learned  to  lean  upon  his  judgment 
as  we  had  always  leaned  upon  his  integrity;  to  confide  in  his 
sagacity  as  a  statesman,  no  less  than  in  his  honesty  as  a  patriot. 
His  kindliness  and  gentleness  of  heart,  his  candor  and  magna- 
nimity, had  commanded  the  respeft  even  of  his  enemies,  and  all 
had  come  to  confess  him  wise  and  prudent,  where  once  they  had 
thouo-ht  him  slow  and  timid.  Firmness  he  had  when  firmness 
was  needed;  and  it  may  be  said  of  him,  as  Motley  has  so  finely 
said  of  his  great  prototype,  William  of  Orange,  "  whether  origin- 
ally of  a  timid  temperament  or  not,  he  was  certainly  possessed  of 
perfect  courage  at  last:  he  went  through  life,  bearing  the  load  of  a 
people's  sorrows  upon  his  shoulders,  with  a  smiling  face." 

-That  cheerful  heart  sustained  him  under  burdens  and  trials 
hitherto  unknown  in  our  history;  and  we  can  add  no  higher 
eulogy  than  the  story  of  the  good  Prince  of  the  Netherlands,  that 
repeats  itself  to-day:  "As  long  as  he  lived  he  was  the  guiding- 
star  of  a  whole  brave  nation ;  and,  when  he  died,  the  little  children 
cried  in  the  streets." 

Above  all,  his  was  the  strength  of  religious  faith.  Abraham 
Lincoln  read  the  word  of  God  for  his  daily  guidance,  and  was 
not  ashamed  to  have  it  known  that  he  was  a  man  of  prayer. 
That  solemn,  almost  prophetic,  utterance  of  his  at  his  inaugura- 
tion, so  puzzling  to  mere  politicians,  will  stand  in  history  as  the 
grand  testimony  of  a  true,  human  soul.  There  was  but  one  thing 
more  that  Abraham  Lincoln  Cjould  do,  —  not  for  himself  but  for 
us,  —  that  he  should  lay  down  his  life  for  the  country  whose  Union 
and  freedom  had  become  the  very  essence  of  that  life.  By  that 
sacrifice  the  redemption  of  the  nation  is  hallowed,  is  perfected,  is 
sure. 


Rev.  yosepli  P.  Thompso7i.  D.D.  279 

I  return  for  a  moment  to  the  historic  parallel  just  cited.  Wil- 
liam of  Orange  was  assassinated  in  the  quietude  of  his  own  home, 
and  just  as  he  "  had  established  the  emancipated  Commonwealth 
upon  a  secure  foundation.  But  here  the  parallel  fails :  the  death 
of  William  frustrated  the  just-approaching  union  of  all  the  Neth- 
erlands; but  the  restored  unity  of  these  United  States,  which 
Abraham  Lincoln  had  almost  accomplished,  is  made,  if  possible, 
more  certain  by  his  death.  Through  the  gloom  of  this  morning, 
there  flashed  upon  me  an  almost  instantaneous  ray  of  light,  reveal- 
ing the  possible  purpose  of  divine  Providence  in  this  event. 
We  had  reached  a  moment  more  critical  even,  more  thickly  set 
with  perils,  than  were  the  doubtful  issues  of  the  battle-field.  The 
political  aspect  of  Virginia  foreshadowed  serious  complications; 
and  there  was  danger  that  the  very  virtues  of  the  President  would 
be  so  circumvented  and  abused  that  the  authors  of  this  conspi- 
racy would  go  "  unwhipped  of  justice."  God  meant  not  so ;  and, 
therefore,  when  he  had  led  Abraham  Lincoln  up  to  the  full  height 
of  his  sublime,  immortal  mission,  he  took  him  to  himself.  And 
now,  from  the  thick  cloud  that  drapes  his  body,  there  reaches 
forth  the  red  right  arm,  not  of  vengeance,  but  of  justice.  For 
justice  there  must  be,  if  the  nation  is  to  live  in  peace.  This 
rebellion  drew  its  life  from  these  two  roots,  —  pride  of  social  caste, 
and  lust  of  political  domination,  —  both  springing  from  the  great 
tap-root,  slavery.  We  must  exterminate  these,  every  fibre  of 
them,  from  our  soil.  The perpehtal  alienation  of  the  estates  of  the 
conspirators^  the  perpetual  disfranchisement  of  the  co7ispirators 
themselves.^  cutting  them  up  root  and  branch,  is  indispensable  to 
the  peace,  yes,  to  the  life,  of  the  nation.  And  for  that  work  of 
inexorable  justice  we  have  a  man  who  hates  the  rebellion  and 
hates  slaver}^  with  a  perfe6t  hatred;  who  has  had  that  hatred 
burnt  into  his  soul;  who  himself  has  been  hunted  by  assassins; 
who  knows  the  rebel  leaders,  their  crime,  and  their  cunning,  and 


28o  Eulogies^  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

who  will  not  be  balked  of  justice  by  their  devices.  At  Nashville 
I  was  shown  the  estates  of  two  rebels,  one  of  whom  offered  the 
Confederacy  a  site  for  its  Capitol,  the  other  gave  \t  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  and  offered  to  mortgage  his  property  for  its  support;  and 
both  these  had  sneaked  back  under  the  amnesty  proclamation. 
Andrew  Johnson  knows  such  men,  and  their  perjur3\  With 
nothing  vindi6tive  in  our  spirit,  we  must  save  the  masses  of  the 
South  itself  by  an7iihilating  the  slave  oligarchy. 

I  am  happy  to  say  here,  that,  on  careful  inquir}^  at  competent 
sources,  I  believe  that  the  infirmity  which  so  distressed  us  a  few 
weeks  ago  was  not  the  indication  of  a  habit,  but  the  fault  of  an 
hour.  Let  us  rally  with  a  generous  confidence  about  the  new 
President,  strengthening  him,  not  only  against  his  enemies  and 
ours,  but,  if  need  be,  against  himself  Less  than  a  year  ago,  I 
expressed  to  Andrew  Johnson,  in  his  own  home,  the  gratitude  of 
a  Northern  man  for  the  sacrifices  he  had  made  for  the  country. 
"  Sir,"  said  he,  "  there  have  been  hours  in  this  dark  and  terrible 
struggle  when  nothing  sustained  me  but  faith.  I  had  seen  my 
property  seized,  my  friends  scattered,  my  life  in  jeopardy,  my 
State  in  chaos;  reason  failed  me,  experience  failed  me,  and  I 
should  have  given  over  in  despair  had  I  not  believed  that  some- 
where in  the  universe  there  is  a  right,  and  that  behind  it  there  is 
a  God  who  will  maintain  it."  That  God,  I  doubt  not,  will  main- 
tain Andrew  Johnson  in  the  path  of  rectitude.  Let  none  of  us 
be  wanting  in  fidelity. 

Friends,  it  is  night,  —  a  dark  and  dreary  night;  a  fit  close  of  such 
a  day  of  gloom.  The  clouds  drop  sympathetic  tears.  But  to-mor- 
row comes  the  morning  of  the  resurrection;  and,  even  now,  I  see 
Him  who  is  the  resurreftion  and  the  life  summoning  this  nation 
to  a  higher  and  a  holier  life,  for  our  salvation  and  to  his  glory. 


SPEECH    OF   HON.    CHARLES   FRANCIS  ADAMS 


AT    A    MEETING    OF    AMERICANS    HELD    IN    LONDON,    MAY    I, 


LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN,  — I  have  been  desired  to 
call  you  together,  for  the  sake  of  giving  some  common  form 
of  expression  to  our  emotions,  stirred  up  as  they  have  been  by  the 
late  fearful  calamity.  In  presence  of  such  an  awful  event,  we  are 
forcibl}'  impressed,  not  merely  with  the  commonplace  idea  of 
mortal  vicissitude,  but  with  the  more  solemn  duty  of  keeping 
ourselves  wholly  free  from  the  indulgence  of  any  unworthy  pas- 
sion. The  ordinary  jars  of  human  life  are  hushed  before  such  a 
catastrophe.  A  great  Virginian  statesman  once  said,  that  "  he 
trembled  for  his  country  when  he  refle6led  that  God  is  just."  The 
dreaded  visitation  appears  to  have  come  upon  us  in  the  third  and 
fourth  generation.  Let  us  endeavor  to  bear  ourselves  with  pa- 
tience and  humility.  But,  whilst  acknowledging  our  shortcom- 
ings, let  us  draw  closer  and  closer  together,  whilst  we  unite  in 
one  earnest  wail  of  sorrow  for  our  loss;  for  I  may  be  permitted 
to  observe  that,  in  this  loss,  the  bereavement  is  wholly  our  own. 
We  are  entirely  to  bear  the  responsibility  of  it.  The  man  who 
has  fallen  was  immolated  for  no  a6l  of  his  own.  It  may  well  be 
doubted  whether,  during  his  whole  career,  he  ever  made  a  single 
personal  enemy.  In  this  peculiarity  he  shone  prominent  among 
statesmen.     No:  he  who  perpetrated  the  crime  had  no  narrow 

36 


282  Eulogies^  Speeches^  and  Letters. 

purpose.  It  was  because  Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  faithful  expo- 
nent of  the  sentiments  of  a  whole  people  that  he  was  stricken 
down.  The  blow  that  was  aimed  at  him  was  meant  to  fall  on 
them.  The  ball  that  penetrated  his  brain  was  addressed  to  the 
heart  of  each  and  every  one  of  us.  It  was  a  fancied  short  way 
of  paralyzing  the  Government  which  we  have  striven  so  hard  to 
maintain.  It  was,  then,  for  our  cause  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
died,  and  not  his  own.  If  he  was  called  a  t3a-ant,  who  was  ele- 
vated to  his  high  post  by  the  spontaneous  voices  of  a  greater 
number  of  men  than  had  ever  been  given  in  any  republic  before, 
it  was  only  because  he  was  obeying  the  wishes  of  those  who 
ele6led  him.  It  is  we  who  must  stand  responsible  for  his  deeds. 
It  is  he  who  has  paid  the  penalty  for  executing  our  will.  Surely, 
then,  this  is  the  strongest  of  reasons  why  all  of  us  should  join,  as 
with  one  voice,  in  a  chorus  of  lamentation  for  his  fall.  It  was 
one  of  the  peculiar  merits  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  that  he  knew  how  to 
give  shape  in  action  to  the  popular  feelings  as  they  developed 
themselves  under  his  observation.  He  never  sought  to  lead,  but 
rather  to  follow;  and  thus  he  succeeded  in  the  difficult  task  of 
successfully  combining  conservatism  with  progress.  This,  surely, 
was  not  like  t3^ranny.  His  labor  was  always  to  improve.  Hence 
it  was  that  he  condu6ted  a  war  of  unexampled  magnitude,  always 
bearing  in  mind  the  primary  purpose  for  which  it  had  been  com- 
menced, at  the  same  time  that  he  associated  with  it  broader  ones 
as  the  opportunity  came.  He  had  pledged  himself,  at  the  outset, 
to  accomplish  certain  objects;  and  he  never  forgot  that  pledge. 
The  time  had  at  last  arrived  when  he  might  honestly  claim  that  it 
would  be  fulfilled.  It  was  in  that  very  moment  he  was  taken 
away.  On  the  very  same  day  of  the  year  when  the  national  flag, 
which  just  four  years  before  had  been  lowered  to  triumphant  ene- 
mies at  Fort  Sumter,  was  once  more  lifted  to  its  original  position 
by  the   hand   of  the   same   officer  who   had  suffered  the  indignity 


Hon.  Charles  Francis  Adams.  2S3 

that  commenced  the  war,  Abraham  Lincoln  fell.  His  euthanasia 
is  complete.  For  him  we  ought  not  to  mourn.  His  work  was 
done;  he  had  fought  the  good  fight;  he  had  finished  his  course. 
The  grief  is  all  for  ourselves  alone.  And  now,  we  who  stand 
around  his  body  may  wxll  cry,  "  Go  up,  go  up,  with  your  gory 
temples  twined  with  the  evergreen  symbols  of  a  patriot's  wreath, 
and  bearing  the  double  glory  of  a  martyrs  crown.  Go  up, 
whilst  for  us  here  remaining  on  earth  your  memory  shall  be 
garnered  in  the  hearts  of  us  and  our  latest  posterity,  in  common 
with  the  pi-iceless  treasures  heaped  up  by  the  great  fathers  of  the 
Republic,  and  close  by  that  of  the  matchless  Washington."  But 
although  we  profoundly  lament  this  loss,  it  must  not  be  presumed 
that  we  do  so  as  having  no  hope.  We  have  parted  with  a  most 
faithful  servant.  But  the  nation  has  not  lost  with  him  one  atom 
of  the  will  which  animated  others  of  its  servants  as  fully  as  it 
did  him.  It  is  one  of  the  notable  features  of  this  great  struggle, 
that  it  is  not  particular  men  who  have  attempted  to  lead  on  the 
people,  but  rather  that  the  people  have  first  given  the  tone,  to 
the  level  of  which  their  servants  must  come  up,  or  else  sink  out 
of  sight  and  be  forgotten.  They  have  uniformly  designated  to 
them  their  wishes.  To  one  man  they  have  said,  "  Come  up,"  and 
to  another,  ^'  Give  way,"  and  in  either  case  they  have  been  as 
implicitly  obeyed.  Whoever  it  be  that  is  employed,  the  spirit 
that  must  animate  him  comes  from  a  higher  source.  The  cause 
of  the  countr}',  then,  does  not  depend  on  any  man  or  any  set  of 
men.  It  has  now  called  to  the  front  the  individual  whom  it  had 
already  elevated  to  the  second  post  in  the  Government.  He  had 
been  pointed  out  for  that  place  by  a  sense  of  his  approved  fidelity 
to  the  Union,  at  the  moment  when  all  around  him  were  faltering 
or  falling  away.  In  the  national  Senate  he  stood,  Abdiel  like,  firm 
and  determined,  in  encountering  with  truth  and  force  the  fatal 
sophistry  of  Jefferson  Davis  and  his  associates,  and  in  denouncing 


284  Eulogies^  Speeches^  and  Letters. 

the  course  of  action  which  was  leading  them  to  their  ruin.  Four 
years  of  intense  and  continued  trials  within  the  borders  of  his 
own  State  have  been  passed  in  the  effort  to  reconstru6t  the  edifice 
of  civil  government,  which  they  had  overthrown.  No  one  has 
braved  greater  dangers  to  his  person,  and  to  all  that  was  held 
most  precious  to  a  man  in  this  world,  than  he.  Those  four  years 
have  not  been  passed  without  at  once  proving  the  firmness  of 
his  faith,  and  the  progressive  nature  of  his  ideas.  He,  too,  has 
been  susceptible  to  the  influence  of  the  national  opinion.  He, 
too,  has  gradually  been  braught  to  the  conviction,  that  slavery, 
which  he  once  defended,  has  been  our  bane,  and  the  cause  of  all 
our  woe.  And  he,  too,  will  follow  his  predecessor  in  making  the 
recognition  of  the  principle  of  human  liberty  the  chief  pathway 
to  restoration.  Maybe,  that  he  will  color  his  policy  with  a  little 
more  of  the  sternness  gathered  from  the  severity  of  his  own  trials. 
He  may  give  a  greater  prominence  to  the  image  of  Justice  than 
to  that  of  Mercy,  in  dealing  with  notorious  offenders.  But,  if  he 
do,  to  whom  is  this  change  to  be  imputed?  Lincoln  leaned  to 
mercy,  —  and  he  was  taken  oft".  Johnson  has  not  promoted  him- 
self. The  magician  who  worked  this  change  is  the  enemy  him- 
self It  would  seem  almost  as  if  it  were  the  will  of  Heaven, 
which  has  interposed  the  possibility  of  this  marvellous  retribution. 
Yet,  even  if  we  make  proper  allowances  for  this  difterence,  the 
great  fa6t  remains  clear,  that  Andrew  Johnson,  like  his  predeces- 
sor, will  exert  himself  to  the  utmost  of  his  power  fully  to  re- 
establish in  peace  and  harmony  the  beneficent  system  of  govern- 
ment which  he  has  already  hazarded  so  much  to  sustain.  And 
should  it  happen  that  he  too  —  which  Heaven  avert!  —  should  by 
some  evil  design  be  removed  from  the  post  now  assigned  to  him, 
the  effe6t  would  only  be  that  the  next  man  in  the  succession  pre- 
scribed by  the  public  law,  and  inspired  from  the  same  common 
source,  will  be  summoned  to  take  his  place.     And  so  it  would  go 


Hon.  Charles  Francis  Adams. 


285 


on,  if  need  be,  in  a  line,  like  that  in  Macbeth's  vision,  "  stretching 
out  to  the  crack  of  doom."  The  Republic  has  but  to  command 
the  services  of  any  of  her  children,  and,  w^hether  to  meet  open 
danger  in  the  field,  or  the  perils  of  the  more  crafty  and  desperate 
assassin,  experience  shows  them  equally  ready  to  obey  her  call. 
So  long  as  the  heroic  spirit  animates  her  frame,  the  requisite 
agents  vs^ill  not  fail  to  execute  her  will.  Any  attempt  to  paralyze 
her  by  striking  down  more  or  less  of  them  will  only  end,  as  every 
preceding  design  to  injure  her  has  ended,  in  disappointment  and 
bitter  despair.  Let  us,  then,  casting  aside  all  needless  apprehen- 
sions for  the  policy  of  our  land,  now  concentrate  our  thoughts 
for  the  moment  upon  the  magnitude  of  the  offence  which  has  de- 
prived us  of  our  beloved  Chief  in  the  very  moment  of  most  inter- 
est to  our  cause;  and  let  us  draw  together  as  one  man  in  the 
tribute  of  our  admiration  of  one  of  the  purest,  the  most  single- 
minded  and  noble-hearted,  patriots  that  ever  ruled  over  the  people 
of  any  land.     . 

London  Daily  JVeivs,  May  2,   1865. 


SPEECH     OF     BENJAMIN    DISRAELI 


IN    THE    HOUSE    OF    COMMONS,    LONDON,    MAY    I,    1865. 


SIR,  —  There  are  rare  instances  when  the  sympathy  of  a  nation 
approaches  those  tenderer  feelings  that,  generally  speaking, 
are  supposed  to  be  peculiar  to  the  individual,  and  to  form  the 
happy  privilege  of  private  life;  and  I  think  this  is  one  of  them. 
Under  all  circumstances,  we  should  have  bewailed  the  catastrophe 
at  Washington;  under  all  circumstances,  we  should  have  shud- 
dered at  the  means  by  which  it  was  accomplished.  But  in  the 
character  of  the  vi6lim,  and  in  the  very  accessories  of  his  almost 
latest  moments,  there  is  something  so  homely  and  so  innocent 
that  it  takes  the  subject,  as  it  were,  out  of  the  pomp  of  history, 
and  out  of  the  ceremonial  of  diplomacy.  Jt  touches  the  heart  of 
nations,  and  appeals  to  the  domestic  sentiments  of  mankind. 

Sir,  —  Whatever  may  be  the  various  and  varjnng  opinions  of 
this  House,  and  the  country  generally,  of  the  policy  of  the  late 
President  of  the  United  States,  of  this,  I  think,  all  must  be  agreed, 
that  in  a  trial  which,  perhaps  more  than  any  other,  tested  the 
moral  quality  of  the  man,  he  performed  his  duty  with  simplicity 
and  strength.  Nor  is  it  possible  for  the  people  of  England  to 
forget  at  this  moment,  that  he  sprang  from  the  same  fatherland, 
and  spoke  the  same  mother-tongue.  When  crimes  of  this  char- 
a6ler  are  perpetrated,  the  public  mind  is  apt  to  fall  into  gloom  and 
perplexity;  and  that  has  arisen  because  it  is  as  ignorant  of  the 


Benjamin  Disraeli.  287 


causes  as  it  is  of  the  consequences  of  such  an  a6l.  But  it  is  our 
part,  I  think,  to  re-assure  them  under  any  unreasoning  panic  or 
despondency.  Assassination  has  never  changed  the  history  of 
the  world.  I  will  not  refer  to  instances  of  remote  antiquity, 
although  an  accident  has  made  the  most  memorable  example  of 
those  times  familiar  at  this  moment  to  the  mind  and  memory 
of  most  gentlemen  present.  Even  the  costly  sacrifice  of  a  Caesar 
did  not  propitiate  the  inevitable  destiny  of  his  country.  But  in 
more  modern  times,  with  whose  feelings  we  are  more  familiar, 
men  were  animated  and  influenced  by  the  same  interests  as  our- 
selves. The  violent  deaths  of  two  heroic  men,  Henry  IV.  of 
France,  and  the  Prince-  of  Orange,  are  conspicuous  illustrations 
of  this  great  truth.  Therefore,  at  this  moment,  while  I  second 
the  address  to  the  Crown,  and  express  upon  my  own  part,  and,  I 
hope,  on  the  part  of  every  member  of  the  House,  feelings  of  un- 
atfefted  and  profound  sympathy  with  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  at  the  untimely  end  of  their  ele6led  Chief,  I  would  not  sanc- 
tion any  sentiment  of  depression.  I  would  rather  take  this  oppor- 
tunity of  expressing  my  fervent  hope,  that  from  these  awful  years 
of  trial  the  various  populations  of  North  America  may  come  out 
elevated,  chastened,  rich  in  that  accumulative  wisdom,  and  strong 
in  that  disciplined  energy,  which  a  young  nation  can  only  acquire 
in  a  protra6led  and  perilous  struggle.  Then  will  be  open  to  them 
again,  not  merely  the  same  course  of  power  and  prosperity  which 
they  have  heretofore  pursued,  but  they  will  pursue  that  course  of 
power  and  prosperity  for  the  general  happiness  of  mankind.  It  is 
with  these  feelings.  Sir,  that  I  now  second  the  address  to  the 
Crown. 

London  Daily  News,  May  2,  1S65. 


SPEECH     OF     SIR    GEORGE    GREY 


IN    THE    HOUSE    OF    COMMONS.    LONDON,    MAY     I.  "1865. 


I  VERY  much  regret  that  in  the  unavoidable  absence  of  my 
noble  friend  at  the  head  of  the  Government,  in  whose  name 
notice  was  given  of  a  motion  for  an  address  to  the  Crown,  to 
express  the  sorrow  and  indignation  of  this  House  at  the  assassina- 
tion of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  to  pray  Her  ISIa- 
jesty  to  communicate  their  sentiments  on  the  part  of  the  House  of 
Commons  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  —  I  very  much 
regret  that  it  has  devolved  upon  me  to  move  this  address.  I  feel, 
however,  that  it  is  comparatively  unimportant  by  whom  the  mo- 
tion is  made,  because  I  am  confident  that  this  address  to  the 
Crown,  to  which  I  am  about  to  ask  the  House  to  agree,  is  one  that 
will  meet  with  its  cordial  and  unanimous  assent.  When  the 
news,  a  few  days  ago,  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  and,  I  hope,  I  may  now  say,  of  the  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  assassinate  Mr.  Seward,  reached  this  country,  the  first 
impression  was  that  the  intelligence  could  not  be  true.  It  was 
hoped  by  every  one,  that  no  one  could  be  found  capable  of  com- 
mitting a  crime"  of  so  atrocious  a  nature;  but  when  the  truth  was 
forced  upon  us,  when  we  could  no  longer  entertain  any  doubt  of 
the  fa6ls  of  the  case,  the  feeling  that  succeeded  was  one  of  deep 
and  universal  sorrow,  horror,  and  indignation.  We  felt  as  if  some 
great  calamity  had  befallen  ourselves.     In  the   civil  war,  the   ex- 


Sir  George  Grey.  289 


istence  and  long  continuance  of  which  we  so  sincerely  deplore,  it 
is  well  known  that  the  Government  of  this  countr}^,  a6ting,  as  I 
believe,  in  accordance  with  the  almost  unanimous  —  or  I  may  say 
the  unanimous  —  feeling  of  the  country,  has  maintained  a  stri6l 
and  impartial  neutrality.  But,  Sir,  it  was  notorious,  —  and  it 
could  not  in  a  great  community  like  this  be  otherwise,  —  that  dif- 
ferent opinions  have  been  entertained  by  different  persons  with 
regard  to  the  question  at  issue  between  the  Northern  and  the 
Southern  States  of  America.  And,  while  I  believe  that  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  majority  of  this  country  has  been  with  the  North,  I 
wish  to  avoid  anything  likely  to  excite  dissent;  therefore,  while  I 
say  that  different  opinions  have  been  entertained,  and  different 
sympathies  felt,  and  in  this  free  country  the  freest  expression  has 
been,  as  it  ought  to  be,  given  to  those  sympathies  and  opinions,  I 
am  sure  I  shall  not  excite  any  difference  of  opinion  when  I  add, 
that,  in  the  presence  of  the  great  crime  which  has  sent  a  thrill  of 
horror  through  all  who  heard  of  it,  those  differences  of  opin- 
ion and  those  confli6ling  sentiments  have  been  suppressed.  I 
entertain  the  strongest  confidence,  that  it  will  be  regarded  by 
every  man  of  position  in  the  Southern  States  with  the  same  de- 
gree of  horror  as  it  has  been  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  What- 
ever our  opinions  may  be  with  respe6l  to  the  past,  whatever  may 
have  been  our  sympathies,  we  should  all  cordially  unite  in  ex- 
pressing our  abhorrence  of  this  crime,  and  in  tendering  our  sym- 
patic}' to  the  nation  which  is  now  mourning  the  loss  of  its  chosen 
and  trusted  Chief,  struck  down  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin  at  a 
most  critical  period  of  its  history.  While  deploring  the  war, 
while  lamenting  the  loss  of  life  which  has  been  its  inevitable  con- 
sequence, it  is  impossible,  whatever  our  sympathies  may  have 
been,  to  withhold  our  admiration  of  the  many  gallant  deeds  which 
have  been  performed,  —  those  a6ls  of  heroism  which  have  been 
displayed  by  both  parties  in  that  contest.     And   it  is   a  matter  of 

37 


290  Eulogies^  Speeches^  and  Letters. 

bitter  reflection,  that  the  page  of  history  which  avill  record  those 
ofallant  achievements  —  the  deeds  of  men  who  have  shed  their 
blood  and  laid  down  their  lives  —  should  be  stained  by  the  record 
of  a  crime  such  as  we  are  now  deploring.  A  new  era  seemed  at 
hand;  the  time  had  come  when  there  was  reason  to  hope  that  the 
war  might  speedily  be  brought  to  a  close.  Victory  had  crowned 
the  efforts  of  the  statesmen  and  of  the  armies  of  the  Federals; 
and  all  of  us  entertained  a  feeling  of  relief  on  being  able  to  turn 
from  the  records  of  so  sanguinar}^  a  contest  to  the  correspondence 
which  had  recently  passed  between  the  generals  commanding  the 
hostile  armies.  I  know  that  INIr.  Lincoln,  as  President  of  the 
United  States,  warranted  the  hope,  I  may  say  expe6lation,  —  and  I 
have  reason  to  believe,  that  that  expectation  would  not  have  been 
disappointed,  —  that  in  the  hour  of  viCtor}^,  and  in  the  triumph  of 
victory,  he  would  have  shown  that  wise  forbearance,  and  that 
generous  consideration,  which  would  have  added  tenfold  lustre  to 
the  fame  that  he  had  already  acquired,  amidst  the  varying  fortunes 
of  the  war.  Unhappily  we  have  not  had  the  opportunity  of  real- 
izing those  expectations.  But  let  us  hope  that  the  good  sense 
and  right  feeling  of  those  upon  whom  the  discharge  of  those  ardu- 
ous and  difficult  duties  in  this  conjuncture  of  affairs  has  devolved 
will,  in  addition  to  their  sense  of  respeCt  and  veneration,  lead 
them  to  aCt  in  the  same  spirit,  and  follow  the  same  counsels 
which,  we  have  good  reason  to  believe,  would  have  guided  the 
conduct  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  had  he  been  left  to  complete  the  work 
which  he  had  begun. 

Sir,  —  I  believe  I  am  expressing  the  general  opinion  when  I 
say,  that  nothing  could  give  greater  satisfaction  to  this  country 
than  to  see,  by  firmness  mixed  with  conciliation,  the  union  of  the 
North  and  the  South  again  accomplished;  especially  if  it  can 
be  accomplished  by  common  consent,  and  free  from  that  which 
has  been  the  weakness  of  all  nations,  —  the  curse  and  disgrace 
of  slavery. 


Sir  George  Grey.  291 


Sir,  —  I  wish  it  were  possible  for  us  to  convey  to  the  people 
of  the  United  States  an  adequate  idea  of  the  depth  and  univer- 
sality of  the  feeling  which  this  sad  event  has  occasioned  in  this 
country.  From  the  highest  to  the  lowest  there  has  been  but  one 
feeling  entertained.  Her  Majesty's  Minister  at  Washington  will, 
in  obedience  to  the  Qiieen's  commands,  convey  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  an  expression  of  the  feelings  of  Her 
Majesty,  and  of  Her  Majesty's  Government,  "on  this  deplorable 
event.  And  Her  Majesty,  with  that  tender  consideration  which 
she  has  always  evinced  for  the  sorrows  and  sufferings  of  others, 
in  whatever  rank  and  station,  has,  with  her  own  hand,  written  a 
letter  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  conveying  the  heartfelt  sympathy  of  a 
widow  to  a  widow,  suffering  from  an  overwhelming  calamity  that 
has  so  suddenly  come  upon  her.  From  every  part  of  this  coun- 
try, and  from  every  class  of  the  community,  one  voice  is  now 
raised,  —  a  voice  of  abhorrence  at  the  crime,  and  of  sympathy 
and  interest  in  that  country  which  has  this  great  loss  to  mourn. 
The  British  residents  in  the  United  States  have  met,  as  may  have 
been  expe6ted,  to  express  their  feelings  against  the  crime  commit- 
ted; and  we  read  that  our  British  North-American  Colonies  are 
vieing  with  each  other  to  give  expression  to  the  same  sentiments 
of  sympathy.  And  not  only  is  it  from  men  of  that  race  which  is 
conne6led  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  by  the  tie  of 
origin,  language,  and  blood,  that  a  feeling  of  this  kind  arises;  but 
I  believe  that  every  country  in  Europe  is  giving  expression  to 
the  same  sentiments,  and  sending  them  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States.  But  I  am  sure,  therefore,  I  am  not  wrong  in  an- 
ticipating, that  this  House,  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  England, 
of  the  people  of  Scotland,  and  of  the  people  of  Ireland,  will  be 
anxious  to  record  its  expression  of  the  same  sentiments  ^nd  feel- 
ings to  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  Of  this  I  am  con- 
fident, that  this  House   could   never  more   fully  and  never  more 


292 


Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 


adequately  represent  the  feelings  of  the  people  of  this  United 
Kingdom  than  by  agreeing  to  the  address  which  it  is  now,  Sir,  my 
duty  to  move,  expressing  to  Her  Majesty  our  sorrow  and  indigna- 
tion at  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  praying  Her  Majesty,  in  conveying  her  own  sentiments  to  the 
Government  of  that  country  upon  this  deplorable  event,  that  she 
will  express  at  the  same  time  upon  the  part  of  this  House  their 
abhorrence  of  the*  crime,  and  their  sympathy  with  the  Govern- 
ment and  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  the  deep  affli6lion 
into  which  they  have  been  plunged. 

London  Daily  News,  May  2,  1865. 


LETTER    FROM  JOHN    STUART    MILL; 


TO    A    FRIEND    IN    PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 


Avignon,  May  13,   1865. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  had  scarcely  received  your  note  of  April  8, 
so  full  of  calm  joy  in  the  splendid  prospe6t  now  opening  to 
your  country,  and  through  it  to  the  world,  when  the  news  came 
that  an  atrocious  crime  had  struck  down  the  great  citizen  who  had 
afforded  so  noble  an  example  of  the  qualities  befitting  the  first 
magistrate  of  a  free  people,  and  who,  in  the  most  trying  circum- 
stances, had  gradually  won,  not  only  the  admiration,  but  almost 
the  personal  affection  of  all  who  love  freedom  or  appreciate 
simplicity  and  uprightness.  But  the  loss  is  ours,  not  his.  It  was 
impossible  to  have  wished  him  a  better  end,  than  to  add  the  crown 
of  martyrdom  to  his  other  honors,  and  to  live  in  the  memory  of  a 
great  nation  as  those  only  live  who  have  not  only  labored  for  their 
country,  but  died  for  it.  And  he  did  live  to  see  the  cause  tri- 
umphant, and  the  contest  virtually  over.  How  different  would 
our  feelings  now  be  if  this  fate  had  overtaken  him,  as  it  might  so 
easily  have  done,  a  month  sooner! 

In  England,  horror  of  the  crime,  and  sympathy  with  your  loss, 
seem  to  be  almost  universal,  even  among  those  who  have  dis- 
graced their  country  by  wishing  success  to  the  slaveholders.  I 
hope  the  manifestations  which  were  instantaneously  made  there 


294  Eulogies^  Speeches^  and  Letters. 

in  almost  every  quarter  may  be  received  in  America  as  some  kind 
of  atonement,  or  peace  offering.  I  have  never  believed  that  there 
was  any  real  danger  of  a  quarrel  between  the  two  countries;  but 
it  is  of  immense  importance  that  we  should  be  firm  friends:  and 
this  is  our  natural  state;  for,  though  there  is  a  portion  of  the  higher 
and  middle  classes  of  Great  Britain  who  so  dread  and  hate 
democracy  that  they  cannot  wish  prosperity  and  power  to  a 
democratic  people,  I  sincerely  believe  that  this  feeling  is  not 
general,  even  in  our  privileged  classes.  Most  of  the  dislike  and 
suspicion  which  have  existed  towards  the  United  States  were  the 
effe6l  of  pure  ignorance,  —  ignorance  of  your  history,  and  igno- 
rance of  your  feeling  and  disposition  as  a  people.  It  is  difficult 
for  you  to  believe  that  this  ignorance  could  be  as  dense  as  it 
really  was.  But  the  late  events  have  begun  to  dissipate  it;  and, 
if  your  Government  and  people  a6t  as  I  fully  believe  they  will 
in  regard  to  the  important  questions  which  now  await  them,  there 
will  be  no  fear  of  their  being  ever  again  so  grossly  misunderstood, 
at  least  in  the  lives  of  the  present  generation. 

As  to  the  mode  of  dealing  with  these  great  questions,  it  does 
not  become  a  foreigner  to  advise  those  who  know  the  exigencies 
of  the  case  so  much  better  than  he  does.  But  as  so  many  of  my 
countrymen  are  volunteering  advice  to  you  at  this  crisis,  perhaps 
I  may  be  forgiven  if  I  offer  mine  the  contrary  way.  Every  one 
is  eagerly  inculcating  gentleness,  and  only  gentleness,  as  if  you 
had  shown  any  signs  of  a  disposition  to  take  a  savage  revenge.  I 
have  always  been  afraid  of  one  thing  only,  —  that  you  would  be  too 
gentle.  I  should  be  sorry  to  see  any  life  taken  after  the  war  is  over 
(except  those  of  the  assassins),  or  any  evil  inflicted  in  mere 
vengeance;  but  one  thing  I  hope  will  be  considered  absolutely  ne- 
cessar}-, —  to  break  altogether  the  power  of  the  slaveholding  caste. 
Unless  this  is  done,  the  abolition  of  slavery  will  be  merely  nominal. 
If  an  aristocracy  of  ex-slaveholders  remain  masters  of  the   State 


yohn  Stuart  Mill.  295 


Legislatures,  they  will  be  able  effectually  to  nullify  a  great  part 
of  the  result  which  has  been  so  clearly  bought  by  the  blood  of  the 
Free  States.  They  and  their  dependants  must  be  effe6lually  out- 
numbered at  the  polling  places;  which  can  only  be  effected  by 
the  concession  of  full  equality  of  political  rights  to  negroes,  and 
by  a  large  immigration  of  settlers  from  the  North:  both  of  them 
being  made  independent  b}^  the  ownership  of  land.  With  these 
things,  in  addition  to  the  Constitutional  Amendment  (which  will 
enable  the  Supreme  Court  to  set  aside  any  State  legislation  tend- 
ing to  bring  back  slavery  in  disguise),  the  cause  of  freedom  is 
safe,  and  the  opening  words  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
will  cease  to  be  a  reproach  to  the  nation  founded  by  its  authors. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  yours  very  truly, 

J.    S.    MILL. 


RESOLUTION    OF    HON.    F.    H.    MORSE, 

UNITED-STATES    CONSUL    FOR   LONDON  : 
AT    A    MEETING    OF    AMERICANS,    HELD    IN    THAT    CITY,    MAY    I,    1865. 


THAT  we  have  heard  with  the  greatest  indignation,  and 
the  most  profound  sorrow,  of  the  assassination  which  has 
deprived  our  country  of  its  beloved  Chief  Magistrate,  as  well 
as  of  the  murderous  assault  which  has  greatly  perilled  the  lives 
of  the  Secretary  and  Assistant-Secretary  of  State;  and  that  we 
regard  the  taking  of  the  life  of  our  chief  executive  officer,  while 
our  country  is  passing  through  unparalleled  trials,  after  all  loyal 
Americans  had  learned  to  love  him,  and  all  good  men  the 
world  over  to  confide  in  him,  and  when  so  much  of  national 
and  individual  welfare  and  happiness  depended  on  his  exist- 
ence, as  the  great  crime  of  the  nineteenth  century,  memorable 
in  its  atrocity,  and  entailing  on  its  perpetrators  the  execration 
of  mankind."  He  denounced  the  assassination  in  terms  of  ap- 
propriate indignation,  and  paid  a  warm  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
President  Lincoln,  who,  he  said,  had  fought  not  only  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  Union,  but  had  struggled  wisely  and  success- 
fully to  wipe  out  the  one  black  stain  from  his  country's  banner, 
slavery.  He  worked  the  point  little  by  little,  until  he  had  brought 
the  country  up  to  a  state  of  feeling  which  had  resulted  in  the  pro- 
hibition of  slavery  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
American  land.  And  it  was  after  the  war  w^as  virtually  over, 
when  Richmond  had  capitulated,  and  the  surrender  of  the  gener- 
alissimo of  the  South,  with  the  elite  of  the  rebel  army,  and  w^hen 


Hon.  F.  H.  Morse.  297 


Abraham  Lincoln  was  engaged  in  the  work  of  reconstruction,  — 
the  first  step  in  which  he  had  so  successfully  carried,  —  that  he 
was  stricken  down  by  the  hands  of  the  assassin.  But  the  princi- 
ples of  Mr.  Lincoln  as  the  successful  champion  had  not  died  with 
him.  They  would  be  carried  out  by  his  successor.  He  (Mr. 
Morse)  had  long  been  intimately  acquainted  with  Andrew  John- 
son, and  could,  from  personal  knowledge,  refute  the  calumnies 
which  had  gone  forth  against  his  character.  Twenty  years  ago, 
he  entered  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  a  young  man,  with 
Andrew  Johnson,  then  a  representative  for  Tennessee.  That  was 
in  1844.  He  sat  upon  a  committee  with  Andrew  Johnson  for 
two  years,  meeting  three  or  four  times  a  week;  and  subsequently, 
during  three  or  four  years,  he  had  a6led  with  him  up  to  the  year 
1 86 1,  and  all  that  time  he  never  heard  one  word  whispered 
against  his  fair  fame.  He  had  seen  him  day  by  day,  and  knew 
him  well,  and  could  safely  assert,  that  the  charge  of  habitual  in- 
temperance against  him  was  one  of  the  vilest  and  most  unfounded 
slanders  that  had  ever  been  cast  on  man.  There  was  no  need  of 
the  slightest  mistrust  in  that  noble-minded  man,  who  had  thus, 
by  the  force  of  his  chara6ter  and  of  his  talents,  raised  himself 
from  the  lowest  ranks  of  the  people  up  to  the  highest  position  in 
the  nation.  His  antecedents  were  a  sufficient  guarantee  for  his 
future  condu6t.  If  ever  the  hand  of  Providence  had  been  seen  in 
guiding  a  nation  in  its  great  trials,  it  was  in  the  events  which  had 
marked  the  history  of  America  during  the  last  four  years;  and 
they  might  rest  assured  that  that  divine  Hand  would  not  fail  them 
now,  —  that  it  would  not  place  at  the  head  of  the  Government  a 
man  to  undo  all  that  had  been  done.  It  was  the  will  of  Heaven 
to  deprive  them  of  their  beloved  and  well-tried  chief  magistrate, 
and  to  appoint  another  to  carry  out  the  good  work  which  he  had 
so  successfully  commenced;  it  was  their  duty  to  bow  to  that  will 
in  all  humility  and  in  all  confidence. 

38 


SPEECH    OF    LORD  JOHN    RUSSELL 

IN    THE    HOUSE    OF    LORDS,    LONDON,    M  ^Y    I,    1865. 


MY  LORDS,  —  I  rise  to  ask  Your  Lordships  to  address  Her 
Majesty,  praying  Her  Majesty,  that,  in  any  communication 
she  may  be  pleased  to  make,  expressing  her  abhorrence  of  the 
great  crime  which  has  been  committed  in  America  by  the  assas- 
sination of  President  Lincoln,  Her  Majesty  may  at  the  same  time 
be  pleased  to  express  the  sorrow  and  indignation  felt  by  us  at  the 
great  crime  which  has  recently  been  committed.  My  Lords,  —  Her 
Majesty  has  already  directed  me  to  express  to  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  the  shock  which  she  felt  when  the  intelligence 
reached  this  country  of  this  great  crime,  and  also  of  her  sympathy 
with  the  Government  and  people  of  the  United  States.  Her 
Majesty  also  has  been  pleased  to  write  a  private  letter  to  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  expressing  her  sympathy  with  her  on  her  great  and  sud- 
den bereavement.  I  think  Your  Lordships  will  agree  with  me  in 
saying,  that  in  modern  times  there  has  hardly  been  any  crime  of 
so  horrible  a  chara6ter  committed.  President  Lincoln  had  been 
legally  elected  President  of  that  great  Republic;  and,  after  the 
secession  of  a  part  of  the  States,  he  was  re-ele6led  President  by 
the  large  majority  of  those  States  which  remained  faithful.  He 
bore  his  honors  meekly;  and  he  was  in  the  discharge  of  his  func- 
tions at  the  very  moment  when  the  assassin  attacked  him  in  the 
theatre,  —  where   he   had  gone,  in   order  to   please  the  people  of 


Lord  yohn  Russell.  299 


Washington.  There  he  was  foully  murdered.  There  are  cir- 
cumstances connected  with  this  crime  which,  I  think,  aggravate 
its  guilt.  President  Lincoln  was  a  man  who,  although  he  had 
not  been  distinguished  before  his  eleftion,  had  from  that  time  dis- 
played a  chara6ter  of  so  much  integrity,  sincerity,  and  straight- 
forwardness, and,  at  the  same  time,  of  so  much  kindness,  that,  if 
any  one  could  have  been  able  to  alleviate  the  pain  and  animosity 
which  have  prevailed  during  the  civil  war,  I  believe  President 
Lincoln  was  the  man  to  have  done  so.  It  was  remarked  of  him, 
that  he  always  felt  indisposed  to  resort  to  any  harsh  or  severe 
measures;  and  I  am  told  that  the  commanders  of  the  army  often 
complained,  that,  when  they  passed  a  sentence  which  they  con- 
ceived to  be  no  more  than  just,  the  President  was  always  sure  to 
temper  its  severity.  Such  was  the  man  required  for  this  particu- 
lar moment.  The.  condu6t  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States  was 
intrusted  to  other  hands;  and  upon  these  commanders  fell  chiefly 
the  responsibility  of  conducting  those  armies  in  the  field,  and 
making  them  successful  against  those  with  whom  the}^  contended. 
But  the  moment  had  come  when  those  armies  were  vi6torious; 
and  no  doubt  the  reputation  of  President  Lincoln  was  greatly 
increased  by  the  success  of  those  armies.  But,  though  it  was  not 
for  him  to  lead  those  armies,  it  would  have  been  his  to  temper 
the  pride  of  vi6tory,  to  assuage  the  misfortunes  which  had  been 
felt,  and  especially  to  show,  which  he  was  well  qualified  to  show, 
that  respeft  for  valor  on  the  opposite  side  which  had  been  so 
conspicuously  displayed;  and  President  Lincoln,  I  think,  showed 
by  the  orders  he  gave  to  the  commanders,  that  he  was  well  quali- 
fied for  that  office.  It  was  by  such  qualities,  it  was  to  be  hoped, 
that  when  the  confli6l  of  arms  was  over,  that  task  of  concilia- 
tion might  have  been  begun;  and  President  Lincoln  had  an  au- 
thority which  no  one  else  had,  to  temper  that  exasperation  which 
always  happens  in  civil  strife.    Upon  another  question,  the  United 


300  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Le tiers. 

States,  and  those  against  whom  they  had  lately  been  in  arms,  will 
have  a  most  difficult  task  to  perform,  —  I  allude  to  the  question  of 
slavery,  which,  according  to  man}'^,  had  been  the  cause  of  the  civil 
war  in  America.  At  the  beginning  of  this  war,  the  House  will 
remember.  President  Lincoln  declared  that  he  had  no  right  by 
the  Constitution  to  interfere  wnth  slavery.  At  a  later  period,  he 
made  a  kind  of  decree  as  Commander-in-chief,  in  which  he  pro- 
posed, that,  in  certain  States,  the  slaves  should  be  entirely  freed. 
But,  at  a  later  period,  he  proposed  that  which  he  was  constitution- 
ally qualified  to  propose,  —  that  there  should  be  an  alteration  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  b}'  which  the  holding  of 
persons  to  labor  by  compulsory  means  was  to  be  for  ever  hereafter 
forbidden.  Many  persons  were  eager  for  the  immediate  abolition 
of  slavery.  But  I  remember  Lord  Macaulay  once  observing,  that 
although  it  would  have  been  a  great  blessing  if  the  penal  laws 
against  Roman  Catholics  had  been  abolished  in  Sir  R.  Walpole's 
time,  yet  he  would  have  been  mad  to  have  proposed  such  a  mea- 
sure. So  with  regard  to  President  Lincoln.  Whatever  might 
have  been  the  horrors  of  slavery,  I  believe  he  was  perfectly  justi- 
fied in  delaying  the  time  when  that  great  alteration  in  the  law 
should  be  proposed.  But,  whatever  we  may  think  on  this  subje6l, 
we  must  all  feel  that  there  again  the  death  of  President  Lincoln 
deprives  the  United  States  of  the  man  who  was  the  leader  on  this 
subje6l,  and  the  man  who,  by  his  temper,  would  have  been  dis- 
posed to  propose  such  measures  as  might  make  this  great  change 
acceptable  to  those  by  whom  he  had  been  ele6ted,  and  who  might 
have  preserved  the  peace  of  that  great  Republic  under  an  entirely 
new  Constitution.  . 

My  Lords,  —  I  think  we  must  all  feel  sympathy  with  the 
United  States  on  this  deprivation,  and  also  hope  that  he  who 
succeeds,  according  to  the  American  Constitution,  to  the  powers 
of  the  late  President,  may  be  able,  both  in  respe6t  of  mercy  and 


Lord  yoJin  Russell.  301 


lenity  to  those  who  have  been  conquered,  and  also  in  respe6t  to 
those  measures  to  be  adopted  for  that  new  organization,  that  the 
abolition  of  slaver}'  requires,  —  we  must  all  hope  that  the  new 
president  may  succeed  in  overcoming  those  difficulties,  and  in 
restoring,  the  Republic  to  its  pristine  prosperity.  I  had,  at  the 
commencement  of  this  contest,  occasion  to  say,  that  I  did  not  be- 
lieve that  that  great  Republic  would  perish  in  the  contest;  and 
my  noble  friend  at  the  head  of  the  Government  had  lately  occa- 
sion to  disclaim  any  feeling  of  animosity  or  envy  at  the  greatness 
and  prosperity  of  the  United  States.  The  course  which  Her  Maj- 
jesty's  Government  pursued  during  this  civil  war  has  been  one  of 
neutrality.  There  have  been  difficulties  which  have  occurred  to 
us,  there  have  been  difficulties  which  have  occurred  to  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  in  maintaining  the  peaceful  rela- 
tions of  the  two  countries;  but  these  difficulties  have  always  been 
treated  with  temper  and  moderation  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 
I  trust  that  temper  and  moderation  will  continue:  and  I  can  as- 
sure this  House,  that,  as  we  have  always  been  actuated  by  the 
wish  that  the  American  Government  and  the  American  people 
should  settle  their  differences  without  any  interference  of  ours  in 
the  confli6t  of  arms,  so,  likewise,  during  the  attempt  that  will  be 
made  to  restore  peace  and  tranquillity  to  that  country,  we  must 
equally  refrain  from  any  kind  of  interference  or  intervention;  and 
we  shall  trust  that  the  efforts  to  be  made  for  that  purpose  will  be 
succes'sful,  and  that  that  great  Republic  will  continue  to  enjoy  its 
career  of  freedom.  I  have  nothing,  of  course,  to  say  of  the  suc- 
cessor of  President  Lincoln.  Time  must  show  how  far  he  is  able 
to  condu6l  those  difficult  matters  which  the  wisdom  of  his  prede- 
cessor was  so  w^ell  calculated  to  bring  to  a  satisfactory  result. 
All  I  can  say  is,  that,  in  sight  of  this  great  calamity,  in  sight  of  this 
great  crime,  the  Crown,  the  Parliament,  and  the  people  of  this 
country,  feel  not  only  the  deepest  sympathy  with  the  Government 


302 


Eulogies^  Speeches,  and  Letters. 


and  people  of  the  United  States,  but  that  our  relations  of  kindred 
with  them  induce  us  to  feel  the  misfortunes  of  the  United  States 
more  than  we  should  the  misfortunes  of  any  country  on  the  face 
of  the  globe.  The  noble  lord  concluded  by  moving  that  an  hum- 
ble address  be  presented  to  Her  Majesty,  expressing  the  sorrow 
and  indignation  of  that  House  at  the  assassination  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States;  and  praying  Her  Majesty  to  communicate 
these  sentiments  on  the  part  of  that  House  to  the  Government  of 
the  United  States. 


LETTER   FROM   PROFESSOR   GOLDWIN    SMITH 


TO     THE     EDITOR    OF    THE     LONDON    DAILY.  NEWS. 


SIR,  —  It  is  difficult  to  measure  the  calamity  which  the  United 
States  and  the  world  have  sustained  by  the  murder  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln.  The  assassin  has  done  his  best  to  strike  down 
mercy  and  moderation,  of  both  of  which  this  good  and  noble  life 
was  the  main  stay.  It  is  impossible  not  to  feel  great  misgivings 
as  to  the  turn  which  this  murder  may  give,  politically  and  morally, 
to  the  course  of  events.  No  doubt  the  powers  of  evil  of  all 
kinds  will  see  their  advantage  in  it.  But  I  have  the  greatest 
and  most  unfeigned  confidence  in  the  good  sense,  the  humanity, 
the  self-control,  the  law-loving  and  constitutional  character  of  the 
American  people. 

The  loss  of  Mr.  Seward  also,  if  he  is  killed,  is  much  to  be 
lamented,  strange  as  the  assertion  may  seem  to  those  who,  with- 
out knowing  any  thing  of  the  man,  or  candidly  watching  his  course, 
have  gone  on  from  day  to  day  repeating  the  accustomed  scoffs 
and  denunciations.  Under  trying  circumstances,  and  notwith- 
standing great  provocation,  he  has  honorably  labored  to  keep 
the  peace.  The  world  will  be  fortunate  if  his  successor  doQS  the 
same. 

My  obje6l  in  writing  to  you,  however,  is  not  to  deplore  what 
is  irreparable,  but  to  second  you  in  deprecating  exaggerated 
assumptions  and   extravagant   language   as   to   the   chara6ter  and 


304  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters, 

probable  condu6t  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  constitutional  successor.  The 
accession  of  Andrew  Johnson  to  the  presidenc}^  will  be  received 
with  almost  as  much  misgiving  in  America  as  here;  and  the  mind 
of  the  American  people  is  no  doubt  by  this  time  at  work  as  to  the 
best  means  of  obviating  the  danger  to  the  State  which  this  event 
may  entail.  Should  necessity  arise,  means  of  securing  the  public 
interest  will  be  found;  though,  in  a  nation  so  attached  to  constitu- 
tional forms,  no  unconstitutional  expedient  will  be  resorted  to  till 
the  resources  of  the  Constitution  have  been  exhausted. 

Even  if  it  were  clear  that  Andrew  Johnson  were  no  better 
than  a  Marat  or  a  Masaniello,  the  Americans  are  not  a  Parisian 
or  a  Neapolitan  mob:  they  are  an  educated  nation,  trained  to 
political  a6lion,  and  capable,  b}^  their  united  intelligence  and 
practical  resources,  of  meeting  almost  an}"  emergency,  as  the 
events  of  the  war  have  shown.  But  it  is  quite  premature  to 
assume  that  Johnson  when  in  power  will  turn  out  a  Marat  or  a 
Masaniello.  An  American  politician  (and  the  same  thing  may 
be  said  of  the  politicians  in  our  colonies)  may  be  very  rough, 
even  coarse;  and  yet  he  may  have  in  him  sterling  stuff,  which 
power  and  responsibility  may  bring  to  light.  Lincoln  himself 
was  originally  a  rough  man;  and  if  we  had  looked  only  to  certain 
parts  of  his  earl}^  writings  and  speeches,  we  might  have  despaired 
of  his  becoming  the  worth}"  ruler  of  a  great  nation. 

At  his  inauguration,  Andrew  Johnson,  under  the  joint  influ- 
ence, it  appears,  of  great  excitement  and  drink,  behaved  in  a  way 
which  shocked  his  countrymen  as  much  as  it  did  us.  But  we 
ought  not  to  forget  that  Pitt  was  once,  at  least,  seen  the  worse  for 
liquor  in  the  House  of  Commons;  and  that,  if  current  tradition 
does  not  deceive  us,  a  speech  was  made  by  a  very  eminent  mem- 
ber of  the  House  of  Lords,  in  the  debate  on  the  Reform  Bill, 
which  showed  that  the  speaker  was  not  under  the  influence  of 
political  excitement  alone.     This  incident  seems  to  me  less  seri- 


Professor  Goldwin  Smith.  305 

ous  than  the  arbitrary  proceedings  of  which  Johnson  has  more 
than  once  been  guilty  in  Tennessee,  and  which  appear  to  betray 
a  chara6ler  prone  to  violence,  —  the  thing  most  of  all  to  be  depre- 
cated and  dreaded  at  the  present  jun6lure. 

But  Tennessee,  where  a  desperate  conflict  has  been  going  on 
between  the  secessionists  and  Union  parties,  and  where  Union  men, 
Johnson  himself  among  the  number,  have  undergone  every  kind 
of  outrage  at  the  hands  of  their  opponents,  is  the  land  of  violence; 
and  it  is  not  to  be  assumed  that  a  man  would  behave  everywhere 
as  he  would  behave  there.  High  position  and  heavy  responsi- 
bilities have  sometimes  a  great  efte6t  in  moderating  and  elevating 
the  chara6ter,  especially  among  the  class  of  rough,  strong  men 
to  whom  I  think  it  very  probable  the  new  President  belongs.  I 
shall  not  despair,  till  fa6ts  compel  me,  of  seeing  him,  in  his  new 
dignity,  mend  his  manners,  throw  off  his  Tennessean  animosities, 
behave  as  becomes  his  station,  and  tread,  to  the  best  of  his  ability, 
both  at  home  and  abroad,  in  the  steps  of  the  truly  great  man  (for 
so,  though  in  an  unimposing  form,  Lincoln  was),  into  whose 
place  he  has  been  unexpectedly  called. 

His  first  speech  seems  to  promise  well.  I  do  not  mean  to 
underrate  the  gravity  of  the  accident,  which,  at  this  crisis,  substi- 
tutes, for  a  representative  of  the  shrewd  and  kindly  West,  a  man 
chosen  to  what  seemed  an  office  of  little  importance  by  way  of 
tribute  to  the  Unionist  martyrs  of  the  violent  and  stabbing  South. 
I  only  wish  to  avoid  aggravating  evil  (as  we  well  may)  by  antici- 
pation; and,  at  an}''  rate,  to  aid  in  arresting,  if  possible,  the  flood 
of  dangerous  vituperation  which  is  ready  to  flow  from  the  pens  of 
a  portion  of  our  press.  These  journalists  have  just  had  as  tre- 
mendous a  lesson  on  their  own  fallibility  as  the  severity  of  destiny 
could  read  them;  and  they  could  scarcely  sele6t  a  more  danger- 
ous moment  than  the  present  for  another  exhibition  of  theii 
temperance  and  discretion. 

39 


3o6  Eulogies^  Speeches^  and  Letters. 

The  Senate,  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Supreme 
Court,  all  have  in  their  hands  powers  of  restraining  the  action  of 
the  Executive;  v^^hich,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives,  increase  in  effe6tiveness  in  proportion 
as  the  personal  influence  of  the  President  over  the  nation  dimin- 
ishes. The  army  is  in  the  hands  of  Grant,  who  has  been  styled 
by  journalistic  omniscience  a  "butcher,"  as  Lincoln  was  styled  a 
"Robespierre,"  but  who  is  in  faft  an  American  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton, as  straightforward  and  simple  in  character,  as  modest,  as 
devoid  of  irregular  ambition,  as  little  likel}^  to  swerve  from  the 
stri6t  path  of  military  or  civil  duty;  while  his  recent  treatment  of 
Lee  and  the  captured  army  shows  that  he  knows  well  how  to 
behave  to  a  vanquished   enemy. 

I  am,  &c., 

April  27.  GOLDWIN    SMITH. 

P.S.  —  "  Now  that  Mr.  Lincoln  is  dead,"  says  a  virulent  Tory 
journal,  "  his  good  qualities  seem  to  come  to  the  foreground." 
And  w^hy,  let  me  ask  in  the  name  of  common  honesty  and  verac- 
it}^,  did  they  not  "  come  to  the  foreground  "  at  the  time  when  they 
were  being  displayed.^  In  the  same  article,  I  find  the  new  Presi- 
dent belabored  with  all  the  aristocratic  epithets  bestowed  till 
yesterda}^  on  his  predecessor,  with  an  unthinking  repetition  of  the 
impudent  falsehood  originated  by  the  "Times,"  that  he  proposed 
"to  hang  the  Southern  leaders  as  high  as  Haman."  Thus  slander 
leaves  the  dead,  with  a  hypocritical  tribute  to  the  virtues  it  has 
maligned,  only  to  fix  upon  the  living. 

Loudon  Daily  Ncvjs^  April  26,  1S65. 


SPEECH    OF    SR.    REBELLO    DA    SILVA 


DELIVERED    IN    THE    CHAMBER    OF    PEERS,    LISBON,    PORTUGAL. 


MR.  PRESIDENT,  — I  desire  to  offer  to  the  Chamber  some 
observations  on  a  subje6l  I  deem  most  grave,  for  the 
purpose  of  introducing  a  motion  which  I  intend  to  lay  upon 
the  table. 

The  Chamber  has  been  made  aware,  by  the  official  documents 
in  the  foreign  journals,  that  a  flagrant  outrage  has  recently 
covered  with  mourning  a  great  nation  beyond  the  Atlantic,  —  the 
powerful  Republic  of  the  United  States. 

President  Lincoln  has  been  assassinated  in  the  theatre,  almost 
in  the  arms  of  his  wife! 

The  perpetration  of  so  foul  a  deed  has  caused  the  deepest 
grief  in  America,  and  throughout  all  the  courts  of  Europe.  Cab- 
inets and  parliaments  have  evinced  the  most  universal  sorrow  at 
an  event  so  grievous. 

It  belongs  to  civilized  communities,  it  becomes  almost  a  duty 
with  all  constituted  political  bodies,  to  accompany  their  manifes- 
tations with  the  sincere  expression  of  horror  at  a6ts  and  crimes 
so  infamous. 

Through  a  fatality,  or  a  sublime  disposition  or  unfathomable 
mystery  of  Providence,  —  which  is  the  more  Christian  interpre- 
tation of  history,  —  it  often  happens,  not  only  in  the  life  of  nations, 


3oS  Eitlogies,  Speeches^  and  Letters. 


but  in  that  of  individuals,  when  the  loftiest  heights  have  been 
reached,  the  boldest  destinies  fulfilled,  even  the  last  degrees  of 
human  greatness  attained;  when  the  way  is  suddenly  made  smooth, 
and  the  horizon  casts  off  its  clouds  and  shadows,  and  smiles 
flooded  with  li^ht.  —  that  then  an  unseen  hand  is  lifted  in  the 
darkness,  that  a  power,  secret  and  inexorable,  is  armed  in  silence, 
and,  waving  the.  dagger  of  Brutus,  pointing  the  cannon  of  Wel- 
lington, or  offering  the  poisoned  cup  of  Asiatic  herbs,  hurls  the 
conqueror,  crowned  with  laurels,  from  his  height,  at  the  feet  ol 
Pompey's  statue,  like  Caesar;  at  the  feet  of  fortune,  weary  with 
following  him,  like  Napoleon;  at  the  feet  of  the  Colossus  of 
irritated  Rome,  like   Hannibal. 

The  mission  of  o^reat  men  and  heroes  makes  them  seem  to  us 
almost  like  demigods;  for  they  receive  for  a  moment  from  on 
High  the  omnipotence  which  revolutionizes  societies  and  trans- 
figures nations :  they  pass,  like  tempests,  in  their  car  of  fire,  to 
see  themselves  dashed  at  last  in  an  instant  against  the  eternal 
barriers  of  the  impossible,  —  barriers  which  no  one  can  remove, 
where  they  all  find  the  pride  of  their  ephemeral  power  reduced 
to  nought,  and  humbled  to  the  dust,  —  for  immutable  and  great 
alone  is  God.  Death  overtakes  them,  or  ruin  reaches  them,  in 
their  apogee,  to  show  to  princes,  to  conquerors,  and  to  people, 
that  their  hour  is  one  only  and  short;  that  their  work  is  fragile,  as 
the  work  of  man,  so  soon  as  the  pillar  of  fire  which  guided  them 
is  extinguished,  and  night  falls  upon  their  way:  the  new  paths 
they  had  opened  for  themselves,  and  through  which  they  thought 
to  pass  boldly  and  secure,  become  gulfs  which  open  and  swallow 
them,  when,  as  instruments  of  the  designs  of  the  Most  High,  the 
days  of  their  empire  and  their  enterprise  shall  have  been  counted 
and  finished. 

Thus  is  seen  a  terrible  example,  a  memorable  lesson,  in  the 
catastrophe  of  the  most  noted  chara6lers  of  history.     So  come  to 


6V.  Rebello  da  Silva.  309 


us  to-day,  stained  with  the  illustrious  blood  of  one  of  its  most 
honored  citizens,  the  recent  pages  of  the  annals  of  the  powerful 
Republic  of  the  United  States.  Its  President,  when  the  first 
quadrennium  was  closed  of  a  government  in  which  strife  was  his 
heritage,  falls  suddenly,  struck  down  before  his  own  triumph ;  and 
from  his  cold  and  powerless  hands  escape  loosely  the  reins  of  an 
administration,  which  the  perseverance  and  energy  of  his  will, 
the  co-operation  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  the  loftiness  and  pres- 
tige of  the  great  idea  he  symbolized  and  defended,  have  made 
immortal  with  a  name  proclaimed  by  millions  of  voices  and 
votes,  on  the  fields  of  battle  and  in  the  assemblies  of  the  people. 
Recondu6led,  elevated  a  second  time  on  the  shields  of  popular 
favor,  to  the  supreme  dire6tion  of  affairs,  at  the  moment  when  the 
heat  of  civil  strife  was  appeased,  when  the  union  of  that  vast, 
dilacerated  body  gave  promise,  in  its  restoration,  to  bind  up  the 
wounds  through  which,  for  so  many  months,  flowed  in  torrents 
the  generous  blood  of  the  free,  almost  in  the  arms  of  vi6lory, 
surrounded  by  those  who  most  loved  him,  in  the  bosom  of  his 
popular  court,  he  suddenly  encounters  death;  and  the  ball  of  an 
obscure  fanatic  closes  and  seals  the  golden  book  of  his  destinies, 
at  the  moment,  too,  when  every  prosperity  seemed  to  welcome 
him  to  length  of  days  and  festive  favor. 

It  is  not  a  king  who  disappears  in  the  ob^urity  of  the  tomb, 
burying  with  him,  like  Henry  IV.,  the  future  of  vast  plans;  it  is 
the  Chief  of  a  glorious  people,  who  leaves  behind  him  as  many 
successors  as  there  are  abettors  of  his  idea,  co-operators  in  his 
noble  and  well-aimed  aspirations.  The  purple  of  a  throne  is  not 
covered  with  mourning,  the  heart  of  a  great  empire  is  shrouded 
in  grief  The  cause,  of  which  he  was  the  strenuous  champion, 
did  not  die  with  him;  but  all  wept  for  his  loss,  through  their  hor- 
ror of  the  deed  and  the  occasion,  and  through  the  hopes  founded 
on  his  pure  and  benevolent  motives. 


3IO  Eulogies^  Speeches^  and  Letters. 

Lincoln,  martyr  to  the  broad  principle  which  he  represented 
in  power  and  struggle,  belongs  now  to  history  and  to  posterity. 
Like  Washington,  whose  idea  he  continued,  his  name  will  be 
inseparable  from  the  memorable  epochs  to  which  he  is  bound, 
and  which  he  expresses.  If  the  Defender  of  Independence  freed 
America,  Lincoln  unsheathed,  without  hesitation,  the  sword  of 
the  Republic;  and  with  its  point  erased  and  tore  out,  from  the 
statutes  of  a  free  people,  the  anti-social  stigma,  the  anti-humani- 
tarian blasphemy,  the  sad,  shameful,  infamous  codicil  of  old 
societies,  —  the  dark,  repugnant  abuse  of  slavery,  which  Jesus 
Christ  first  condemned  from  the  top  of  the  cross,  proclaiming  the 
equality  of  man  before  God;  which  nineteen  centuries  of  civiliza- 
tion, reared  in  the  gospel,  have  proscribed  and  rejected  as  the 
opprobrium  of  our  times. 

At  the  moment  when  he  v^as  breaking  the  chains  of  a  luck- 
less race;  when  he  was  seeing  in  millions  of  rehabilitated  slaves 
millions  of  future  citizens;  when  the  bronze  voice  of  Grant's 
vi(5lorious  cannon  was  proclaiming  the  emancipation  of  the  soul, 
of  the  conscience,  and  of  toil;  when  the  scourge  was  about  to 
fall  from  the  hands  of  the  scourgers;  when  the  ancient  slave- 
pen  was  about  to  be  transformed,  for  the  captive,  into  a  domestic 
altar;  at  the  moment  when  the  stars  of  the  Union,  sparkling  and 
resplendent  with  t^e  golden  fires  of  liberty,  were  weaving  over 
the  subdued  walls  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond,  —  the  sepulchre 
opens,  and  the  strong,  the  powerful,  enters  it.  In  the  midst  of 
triumphs  and  acclamations,  there  appeared  to  him  a  spectre,  like 
that  of  Caesar,  in  the  Ides  of  March,  saying  to  him,  "  You  have 
lived." 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  approve  or  condemn  the  civil  strife  which 
divides  and  covers  with  blood  two  brother  sections  of  the  Amer- 
ican people.  I  am  neither  their  judge  nor  their  censor.  I  honor 
the  principle  of  liberty,  wherever  cherished  and  maintained;  but 


Sr.  Rcbello  da  Silva.  311 


I  can  also  honor  and  admire  another  principle,  not  less  sacred  and 
glorious,  —  that  of  independence.  May  the  progressive  virtue  of 
our  age  re-unite  those  whom  discord  has  divided,  and  reconcile 
ideas  which  are  in  the  hearts  and  aspirations  of  all  generous 
souls. 

In  this  struggle,  which  in  magnitude  exceeds  all  we  have  seen 
or  heard  of  in  Europe,  the  vanquished  of  to-day  are  worthy  of 
the  great  race  from  which  they  sprang.  Lee  and  Grant  are  two 
giants,  whom  history  will  keep  inseparable.  But  the  hour  of 
peace  is  perchance  about  to  strike.  Lincoln  desired  it  as  the 
crown  of  his  labors,  the  glorious  result  of  so  many  sacrifices. 
After  force,  let  there  be  forbearance ;  after  the  brave  fury  of  bat- 
tles, the  fraternal  embrace  of  citizens. 

These  were  the  motives  which  governed  him,  these  the  last 
virtuous  desires  he  entertained;  and  it  is  at  this  moment  (per- 
chance a  rare  one),  when  a  great  soul  is  so  potent  for  good, 
when  a  single  mind  is  worth  whole  legions,  as  a  pacificator,  that 
the  hand  of  an  assassin  is  raised  in  treachery,  and  cuts  the  thread 
of  plans  and  purposes  so  lofty  and  so  noble. 

If  the  x\merican  nation  were  not  a  people  tried  in  the  experi- 
ences and  strifes  of  government,  could  any  one  perchance  calculate 
the  fatal  consequences  of  this  sudden  blow?  Who  knows  if  the 
conflagration  of  civil  war  would  not  have  spread  to  the  remotest 
confines  of  these  Federal  States,  in  all  the  pomp  of  its  horrors? 
Happily,  it  will  not  be  so.  While  public  opinion  and  the  journals 
condemn  the  deed  severely  and  justly,  and  their  horror  is  excited 
against  the  fatal  crime,  —  sentiments  which  are  those  of  all  civil- 
ized Europe,  —  they  give  honorable  heed  to  ideas  of  peace  and 
forbearance,  as  though  the  great  man  who  advocated  these  ideas 
had  not  disappeared  from  the  arena  of  the  world.  And  I  use  the 
term  advisedly,  ^^ great  man,''''  for  he  is  truly  great  who  rises  to 
the  loftiest  heights  from  profound  obscurity,  relying  solely  on  his 


312  Eulogies^  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

own  merits,  —  as  did  Napoleon,  Washington,  Lincoln.  For  these 
arose  to  power  and  greatness,  not  through  any  favor  or  grace  of 
a  chance-cradle,  or  genealogy,  but  through  the  prestige  of  their 
own  deeds,  through  the  nobility  which  begins  and  ends  with 
themselves,  —  the  sole  offspring  of  their  own  works.  He  is  more 
to  be  envied  who  makes  himself  great  and  famous  through  his 
genius  and  deeds,  than  he  who  is  born  w^ith  hereditary  titles. 

Lincoln  was   of  this    privileged   class:     he   belonged  to   this 
aristocracy.      In    infancy,   his   energetic   soul  w^as    nourished    by 
poverty.     In  youth,  he   learned   through  toil  the  love  of  liberty, 
and  respe6l  for  the  rights  of  man.     Even  to  the  age  of  twenty- 
two,  educated  in  adversity,  his  hands  made  callous  by  honorable 
labor,  he  rested  from  the  fatigues  of  the  field,  spelling  out,  in  the 
pages  of  the  Bible,  in  the   lessons  of  the  gospel,  in  the  fugitive 
leaves  of  the  daily  journal, — which  the  Aurora  opens,  and  the  night 
disperses,  —  the  first  rudiments  of  instru6tion,  which  his  solitary 
meditations  ripened.     Little  by  little,  light  w^as  infused  into  that 
spirit,  the  wings  put  forth  and  grew  strong  with  which  he  flew\ 
The   chrysalis  felt   one  day  the  ra}^  of  the  sun,  which  called  it  to 
life,  broke  its  involucrum,  and  it  launched  forth  fearlessly  from  the 
darkness   of  its   humble   cloister  into  the  luminous  spaces  of  its 
destiny.      The   farmer,   day-laborer,   shepherd,   like    Cincinnatus, 
left  the   ploughshare  in  the  halt-broken  furrow,  and,  legislator  of 
his  own  State,  and  afterwards  of  the  Great  Republic,  saw  himself 
proclaimed  in  the  tribunal  the  popular  chief  of  many  millions  of 
people,  the  maintainer  of  the  holy  principle  inaugurated  by  Wil- 
berforce.     What  strife,  what  scenes  of  agitation,  what  a  series  of 
herculean   labors   and  incalculable  sacrifices,  were   not  involved 
and  represented   in   the  glory  of  their  results,  during  these  four 
years  of  war  and  government!     Armies  in  the  field,  such  as,  since 
the  remotest  periods,  there   has   been  no  example!      Huge  bat- 
tles, which   saw  the   sun  rise   and  set,  twice   or   thrice,  without 


Sr.  Rcbcllo  da  Silva.  313 


victory  inclining  to  the  one  or  the  other  side:  marches,  in  which 
thousands  of  victims,  whole  legions,  piled  with  the  dead  each 
fragment  of  the  conquered  earth:  assaults  which,  in  audacity  and 
slaughter,  reduce  to  insignificance  the  exploits  of  Attila  and  the 
Huns! 

What  stupendous  obsequies  for  the  scourge  of  slavery! 
What  a  lesson,  terrible  and  salutary,  from  a  great  people,  still 
rich  and  vigorous  with  youth,  to  the  timid  vacillations  of  old 
Europe,  before  a  destiny  contested  by  principles  so  sacred! 

These  were  the  monuments,  the  million  marks,  of  his  career. 
If  the  sword  was  in  his  hands  the  instrument,  and  liberty  the 
inspiration  and  strength,  of  his  efforts,  -he  was  not  unfaithful  to 
them.  Above  the  thorns  in  his  path,  through  the  tears  and  blood 
of  so  many  holocausts,  he  was  able  at  last  to  see  the  promised 
land.  It  was  not  vouchsafed  to  him  to  plant  therein,  in  expiation, 
the  auspicious  olive-tree  of  concord.  When  he  was  about  to 
re-unite  the  broken  bond  of  the  Union;  when  he  was  about  to  in- 
fuse anew  the  life-giving  spirit  of  free  institutions  into  the  body 
of  the  country,  its  scattered  and  bloody  members  rejoined  and 
re-cemented;  when  the  standard  of  the  Republic,  the  funereal 
clamors  silenced,  and  the  agonies  of  pride  and  defeat  consoled, 
was  about  to  be  again  raised,  covering  with  its  glorious  folds  all 
the  children  of  the  same  common  soil,  purified  from  the  indelible 
stain  of  slavery,  —  the  athlete  reels,  and  falls  in  the  arena,  show- 
ing that  he,  too,  was  but  a  mortal. 

I  deem  this  sketch  sufficient.  The  Chamber,  through  inclina- 
tion, through  a  sense  of  duty,  through  its  institution,  not  only 
conservative,  but  as  the  faithful  guardian  of  traditions  and  princi- 
ples, will  not  be,  surely  will  not  desire  to  be,  backward  in  joining 
in  the  manifestations  which  the  elective  House  has  just  voted, 
co-operating  with  the  enlightened  cabinets  and  parliaments  of 
Europe.     Silence  in  the  presence  of  such  outrages  belongs  only 

40 


314  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

to  senates  dumb  and  disinherited  of  all  high  sentiments  and  aspi- 
rations. 

Voting  this  motion,  the  Chamber  of  Peers  associates  itself  in 
the  grief  of  all  civilized  nations.  The  crime  which  shortened  the 
days  of  President  Lincoln,  martyr  to  the  great  principles  in 
which  our  age  most  glories,  is  almost,  is  in  essence,  a  regicide; 
and  a  monarchical  country  cannot  refrain  from  detesting  and 
condemning  it. 

The  descendants  of  those  who  first  revealed  to  the  Europe  of 
the  sixteenth  century  the  new  way,  which,  through  the  barriers 
of  stormy  and  unknown  seas,  opened  the  gates  of  the  kingdom  of 
the  Aurora,  will  not  be  the  last  to  bend  over  the  gravestone  of  a 
great  magistrate,  who  was  likewise  the  guide  of  his  people  through 
fearful  tempests,  and  who  succeeded  in  conducing  them  triumph- 
antly to  the  overthrow  of  the  last  vestige  of  the  citadel  of  slavery. 
To  each  epoch  and  its  people,  its  task  and  its  meed  of  glory;  to 
each  illustrious  hero,  his  crown  of  laurel,  or  his  civic  crown. 

Translated  for  the  Christian  Register.,  Boston,  August  12,  1S65. 


LETTER    FROM    DR.    MERLE    D'AUBIGNE 


AUTHOR    OF    THE    "  HISTORY    OF    THE    REFORMATION. 


THE  New- York  Evening  "  Post "  reports  that  Mr.  Henry  A. 
Smythe,  President  of  the  Central  National  Bank  of  that 
cit}^,  has  received  from  George  G.  Fogg,  American  Minister  to 
Switzerland,  a  letter  of  condolence  addressed  to  Mr.  Fogg  by  the 
author  of  the  "  History  of  the  Reformation."  Mr.  Fogg  says,  — 
"  Of  the  many  letters  sent  to  me  from  the  most  eminent  men  in 
letters  and  science,  I  have  thought  that  you,  and  other  of  our 
friends  in  America,  would  be  interested  in  one  from  the  great 
historian  of  the  Reformation." 

Geneva,  April  27,  1865. 

Monsieur  le  Ministre,  —  At  the  moment  when  our  hearts 
were  excited  at  the  great  deliverance  which  God  has  accorded 
for  your  people;  at  the  moment  when  we  were  rendering  thanks- 
giving to  him,  for  putting  an  end  in  your  noble  country  to  the  two 
greatest  evils  with  which  humanity  can  be  affli6ted,  —  war  and 
slavery,  —  a  terrible  news  comes  to  change  our  joy  into  deepest 
mourning.  The  blow  which  has  struck  Mr.  Lincoln  strikes  all 
the  friends  of  justice,  order,  liberty,  and  religion.  He  has  been 
the  instrument  of  God  for  the  accomplishment  of  one  of  the 
greatest  a6ls,  perhaps  the  very  greatest,  which  will   illustrate   our 


3i6  Eulogies^  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

century,  —  the  definitive  abolition  of  slavery  throughout  Christen- 
dom. He  is  not  only  the  instrument,  but  the  victim.  While  not 
venturing  to  compare  him  w^ith  the  great  sacrifice  of  Golgotha, 
which  gave  liberty  to  the  captives,  is  it  not  just,  in  this  hour,  to 
recall  the  word  of  an  apostle  (i  John,  iii.  i6)  :  "In  this  we  have 
known  love,  in  that  Christ  has  laid  down  his  life  for  us;  and 
therefore  ought  we  also  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  our  brethren." 
Who  can  say  that  the  President  did  not  lay  down  his  life  by  the 
firmness  of  his  devotion  to  a  great  duty?  The  name  of  Lincoln 
will  remain  one  of  the  greatest  that  history  has  to  inscribe  on  its 
annals. 

Parricidal  hands,  in  striking  down  the  Chief  of  your  people, 
have  thought  to  be  able  thereby  to  arrest  the  great  work  he  had 
commenced.  But  if  men  pass  away,  God  remains.  God,  whose 
minister  Lincoln  was,  will  crown  the  work  of  peace,  order,  and 
liberty,  which  has  cost  this  generous  man  a  life  so  precious.  We 
weep  with  you,  my  dear  sir:  but  we  hope  also  with  you;  and  our 
hope  shall  not  be  deceived.  Ma}^  God  himself  assuage  the 
w^ounds  of  your  people.  May  the  aegis  of  his  gospel  restore  to 
them  union,  harmony,  peace,  and  prosperity.  Among  the  lega- 
cies which  Lincoln  leaves  to  us,  we  shall  all  regard,  as  the  most 
precious,  his  spirit  of  equity,  of  moderation,  and  of  peace,  accord- 
ing to  which  he  will  still  preside,  if  I  may  so  speak,  over  the 
restoration  of  your  great  nation. 

Excuse  me,  if  I  dare  avail  myself  of  the  liberty  you  have 
given  me  on  other  occasions  to  correspond  with  you,  in  order  to 
pray  you  to  receive,  in  these  painful  circumstances,  the  expression 
of  my  condolence  and  of  my  profound  respe^l. 

MERLE   D'AUBIGNE. 
To  the  Hon.  George  G.  Fogg,  Minister  Resident 

of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Switzerland. 


LETTER    FROM    THE    DEMOCRATIC    ASSOCIATION 

OF    FLORENCE. 


To  the  Free  People  of  the    United  States  of  Amei'ica. 

May  i8,  1865. 

BROTHERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  UNION,  — A  few 
days  have  passed  since  your  people  prepared  themselves  to 
celebrate,  in  the  decisive  vi6lory  of  Richmond,  the  proximate,  in- 
fallible triumph  of  liberty  and  of  the  Union  over  servitude  and 
division,  when  sad  intelligence  troubled  the  sincere  joy  of  all  the 
friends  of  libert}^,  and  stopped  on  our  lips  the  festive  expressions 
of  triumph,  and  our  glad  wishes  for  the  future. 

Lincoln,  the  honest,  the  magnanimous,  citizen,  the  most  wor- 
thy chief  magistrate  of  your  glorious  Federation,  a  vi6tim  of  an 
execrable  treason,  is  no  more. 

The  furies  of  despotism  and  of  servitude,  deceived  in  their 
infamous  hopes,  incapable  of  sustaining  any  longer  their  combat 
against  liberty,  before  falling  into  the  abyss  which  threatened 
them,  strengthened  the  arm  of  a  murderer;  and  as  they  opened 
the  fratricidal  war  with  the  gibbet  of  the  martyr  of  the  cause  of 
abolition,  John  Brown,  so  they  ended  it,  worthy  of  themselves,  in 
the  most  ferocious  and  stupid  of  all  crimes,  —  the  murder  of  a 
great  citizen. 

Now,  liberty,  in  stigmatizing  the  cause  of  her  enemies,  will 
have  only  to  point  out  this  deed,  and  the  masses  of  the  people 
everywhere  cannot  fail  to  remember  that  European  despots  have 


3 1 8  Eulogies^  Speeches^  and  Letters. 

had  a  share  in  it;  that  in  some  courts  of  Europe,  Mason,  SHdell, 
and  the  infamous  pirates  of  the  "  Alabama,"  found  prote6lion  and 
encouragement,  and  the  wicked  instigator  of  the  civil  war,  Jeffer- 
son Davis,  obtained  praises  and  applause. 

Brothers  of  the  American  Union,  —  Courage!  The  great 
cause  for  which  you  have  supported  four  years  of  titanic  com- 
bat is  the  cause  of  humanity;  its  triumph  can  never  more  be 
doubted,  and  has  been  delayed  only  for  a  moinent  by  the  worst  of 
a6lions,  committed  by  an  abjeft  murderer. 

Tyranny,  it  is  true,  could  sometimes  be  destroyed  by  the  mur- 
der of  the  tyrant,  because  it  has  life  only  in  him;  but  liberty, 
which  lives  in  the  people,  has,  like  the  people,  an  immortal  origin 
and  destin}^ 

For  the  Comm.ittee. 

(Signed)  P.  D.  ANNIBALE,  President. 

A.   CORTI,    Secretary. 


To  the  Democratic  Association  of  Florence. 

United  Coxsulate-Gexeral  for  the  Kixgdom  of  Italy, 

Florence,  May  23,  1865. 

Gentlemen,  —  I  have  had  the  gratification  of  transmitting  to 
my  Government  the  address  to  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
presented  to  me  last  week  by  your  Association ;  and  I  have  re- 
quested that  this  gratifying  evidence  of  your  S3'mpathy  and  good 
feeling  may  be  made  known  to  my  countrymen  through  the  pub- 
lic journals. 

In  the  profound  sorrow  w^hich  the  American  nation  has  been 
called  upon  to  endure  through  the  death  of  our  beloved  Presi- 
dent, it  is  a  source  of  the  greatest  consolation  to  know  how  highly 
his  public  a6fs  were  appreciated  by  the  liberal  citizens  of  all  na- 
tions, and  especially  by  those  of  Italy,  whose  people  have  done 


T.B.  L 


awrence. 


319 


so  much  to  prove  their  devotion  to  the  great  principles  of  free- 
dom. Italy,  beyond  any  other  nation,  knows  how  to  fraternize 
with  the  United  States;  for  "Liberty  and  Union"  have  been 
alike  the  watchwords  of  the  people  of  both  countries. 

The  history  of  your  own  renowned  land  proves  that  in  a  di- 
vided country  liberty  exists  but  in  name.  Your  ancient  republics 
were  rivals  to  each  other;  and,  while  city  took  up  arms  against 
city,  and  family  against  family,  the  people  were  enslaved. 

Six  centuries  ago,  your  glorious  poet,  the  immortal  Dante  (to 
whose  fame  you  have  just  rendered  a  tribute  and  an  homage 
worthy  of  his  countrymen),  with  a  divine  inspiration,  foresaw 
that  in  the  union  of  Italy  could  real  liberty  only  be  found;  and 
while  his  descendants  of  the  nineteenth  century  are  proving  his 
dream  to  be  a  reality,  the  lesson  conveyed  by  the  past  experience 
of  Italy  has  not  been  lost  upon  the  American  nation. 

For  the  union  of  the  States  and  the  liberty  of  the  people,  the 
American  war  has  been  waged;  and  although  in  its  prosecution 
blood  has  been  shed  like  water,  and  treasure  lavished  without 
stint,  yet  we  deem  its  vast  cost  as  trifling  in  comparison  with  the 
grand  result  obtained  in  the  preservation  of  our  Union,  and  the 
enfranchising  of  four  millions  of  slaves. 

Well,  as  in  Italy  you  justly  idolize  the  noble  Garibaldi,  as  the 
paladin  and  hero  of  Italian  emancipation;  so  we  in  America 
honor  the  martyr,  Abraham  Lincoln,  as  the  Saviour  of  his  Coun- 
try. Alike  in^  their  entire  freedom  from  private  or  political  sel- 
fishness; alike  in  their  pure  and  spotless  patriotism;  alike  in 
holding  the  first  place  in  the  hearts  of  their  countrymen,  —  pos- 
terity will  regard  them  as  apostles  of  liberty,  second  to  none  that 
the  annals  of  history  record. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  gentlemen. 

Your  obedient  servant, 
(Signed)  T.  B.   LAWRENCE,    Consul -General. 


SPEECH    OF    EDOUARD    LABOULAYE: 


ON    THE    DEATH    OF    MR.    LINCOLN. 


9 


THE  murder  of  Mr.  Lincoln  has  excited  a  profound  emotion 
through  all  Europe.  The  atrocity  of  such  a  cold-blooded 
murder;  the  honesty  and  innocence  of  the  vi6lim;  the  death 
which  arrested,  in  the  very  midst  of  victory,  the  man  w^ho  seemed 
to  have  conquered  the  right  of  finishing  the  work  of  pacification 
which  he  had  so  nobly  begun,  —  explain  but  too  well  the  universal 
sympathy  in  the  presence  of  this  cruel  and  unexpe6ted  end. 
Friends,  enemies,  and  indifierent  persons,  all  to-day  render  full 
justice  to  the  prudence,  firmness,  and  moderation  of  Mr.  Lincoln; 
all  execrate  the  wretch  who  cut  off  so  beautiful  a  life.  Far  from 
me  be  the  thought  of  casting  on  the  South  the  weight  of  such  a 
crime.  A  people  of  soldiers  is  not  a  people  of  assassins;  and  I 
am  not  astonished  that  at  the  news  of  the  assassination  Lee  was 
unable  to  resist  his  grief,  and  the  brave  Ewell  wept  like  a  child. 
War  teaches  us  to  respe6l,  and  often  even  to  lave  an  enemy. 
But  if  I  do  not  accuse  the  South,  I  accuse  slavery,  and  the  pas- 
sions which  it  lets  loose.  All  those  a6ts  of  violence,  which,  for 
forty  years  past,  have  disturbed  America,  and  rejoiced  those  who 
hate  liberty,  —  street  duels,  negi'oes  burned  alive,  the  beating  of 
Mr.  Sumner,  the  plots  against  Mr.  Lincoln,  —  all  these  misdeeds 
have  come  from  the  same  poisoned  source:  they  have  been 
brought  forth  by  the  pride  of  dominion. 


Edonard  Laboulayc.  321 


Slavery  ends  as  it  began,  by  a  crime.  May  this  crime  be  the 
last!  May  this  abominable  institution,  once  more  dishonored, 
disappear  at  last  before  the  contempt  and  abhorrence  of  the  hu- 
man race!  It  would  be  the  noblest  homage  that  could  be  ren- 
dered to  the  memory  of  Lincoln. 

I  shall  not  make  the  eulogy  of  the  President:  I  have  neither 
the  time  nor  the  strength;  but  I  w^ould  like  to  recall  some  of  his 
words  and  a6lions,  and  to  show  what  was  the  unity  and  simplicity 
of  his  life.  Death  sets  each  one  in  his  place :  it  plunges  into  for- 
getfulness  those  minions  of  fortune  who  have  lived  only  to  achieve 
their  ambition,  or  to  satisf}^  their  wretched  vanity;  but  it  elevates 
the  truly  great  men,  and  casts  over  these  noble  figures  an  inde- 
scribable splendor  and  serenity.  Disdained  and  insulted  yester- 
day, they  are  respe6led  and  admired  on  the  morrow:  they  are 
more  powerful  in  their  tomb  than  in  their  palace.  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  one  of  these  heroes,  who  are  ignorant  of  themselves;  his 
thoughts  will  reign  after  him.  The  name  of  Washington  has 
already  been  pronounced,  and  I  think  with  reason.  Doubtless 
Mr.  Lincoln  resembled  Franklin  more  than  Washington.  By  his 
origin,  his  arch  good  nature,  his  ironical  good  sense,  and  his  love 
of  anecdote  and  jesting,  he  was  of  the  same  blood  as  the  printer  of 
Philadelphia.  But  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that,  in  less  than  a  cen- 
tury, America  has  passed  through  two  crises  in  which  its  liberty 
might  have  been  lost,  if  it  had  not  had  honest  men  at  its  head; 
and  that  each  time  it  has  had  the  happiness  to  meet  the  man 
best  fitted  to  serve  it.  If  Washington  founded  the  Union,  Lincoln 
has  saved  it.  History  will  draw  together  and  unite  those  two 
names. 

A  single  word  explains  Mr.  Lincoln's  whole  life;  it  was  dut}^ 
Never  did  he  put  himself  forward;  never  did  he  think  of  himself; 
never  did  he  seek  one  of  those  ingenious  combinations  which 
puts  the  head  of  a  State  in  bold  relief,  and   enhances   his   import- 

41 


^2  2  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

ance  at  the  expense  of  the  country:  his  only  ambition,  his  only 
thought,  was  faithfully  to  fulfil  the  mission  which  his  fellow-citi- 
zens had  intrusted  to  him.  He  wished  to  be  the  first  magistrate 
of  a  Republic,  neither  more  or  less:  always  ready  to  hold  cheap 
what  afl:e6ted  only  himself;  but  always  resolved  to  exa6l  of  each 
one  that  he  should  respect  the  Constitution,  and  bow  before  the 
sovereignty  of  the  laws. 

Hence  arose  in  Mr.  Lincoln  that  mixture  of  gentleness  and 
firmness  which  is  already  found  in  his  first  speech,  —  his  adieu  to 
the  little  city  of  Springfield,  where,  as  a  lawyer,  he  had  deserved 
the  esteem  and  love  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  which  he  addressed 
to  his  friends  who  had  followed  him  to  the  cars,  February  ii, 
1 86 1,  as  he  was  about  to  set  out  for  Washington. 

Having  reached  Washington,  —  by  foiling  a  plot  laid  by  the 
partisans  of  slavery,  —  he  addressed  to  Congress,  March  4,  1861, 
a  speech  of  finished  wisdom.  The  Southerners,  carried  away  by 
passion,  and  the  wits  of  Europe,  could  not  at  that  time  find  dis- 
dain or  insults  enough  for  this  peasant,  this  wood-chopper,  this 
mechanic,  with  ugly  figure,  rough  hair,  and  large  hands,  who 
dared  take  his  place  in  the  Capitol;  but,  now  that  events  have 
opened  the  blindest  eyes,  how  just  and  sensible  does  this  speech 
of  a  true  patriot  appear!  How  much  blood  and  how  many  tears 
would  have  been  spared,  if  men  had  listened  to  the  voice  of  this 
good  man! 

The  President  declared  that  he  would  insure  respe6l  to  the 
Constitution.  He  was  not  charged  with  abolishing  slavery;  he 
was  charged  with  maintaining  the  sovereignty  of  the  Union,  and 
the  rights  of  the  State.  This  mission  he  would  fulfil  to  the  end. 
Moreover,  why  separate  ?  If  a  minority  could  secede  from  the 
majority,  to-morrow  a  nucleus  of  malcontents  might  be  formed  in 
this  minority  which  had  become  independent,  and  the  conclusion 
of  secession  would  be  perpetual  and  incurable  anarchy. 


Edouard  LabotUaye.  323 


"No,  my  fellow-citizens,"  he  added,  "we  cannot  separate. 
We  cannot  remove  our  respective  sections  from  each  other,  nor 
build  an  impassable  wall  between  them.  A  husband  and  wife 
may  be  divorced,  and  go  out  of  the  presence  and  beyond  the  reach 
of  each  other;  but  the  different  parts  of  the  country  cannot  do 
this.  They  cannot  but  remain  face  to  face,  and  intercourse,  either 
amicable  or  hostile,  must  continue  between  them.  Is  it  possible, 
then,  to  make  that  intercourse  more  advantageous  or  more  satis- 
fa6lory  after  separation  than  before?  Can  aliens  make  treaties 
easier  than  friends  can  make  laws  ?  Suppose  you  go  to  war,  you 
cannot  fight  always;  and  when,  after  much  loss  on  both  sides, 
and  no  gain  on  either,  you  cease  fighting,  the  identical  question  as 
to  terms  of  intercourse  are  again  before  you.  In  your  hands,  my 
dissatisfied  fellow-citizens,  and  not  in  mine,  is  the  momentous 
question  of  civil  war.  The  Government  will  not  assail  you.  You 
can  have  no  confli6t  without  being  yourselves  the  aggressors. 
You  have  no  oath  registered  in  heaven  to  oblige  you  to  destroy 
the  Government,  while  I  shall  have  the  most  solemn  one  ^  to  pre- 
serve, prote6t,  and  defend  it.'  We  are  not  enemies,  but  friends. 
We  must  not  be  enemies.  Though  passion  may  have  strained, 
it  must  not  break  our  bonds  of  afteftion." 

We  know  how  the  South  responded  to  this  touching  appeal. 
I  will  not  write  the  history  of  the  war.  I  will  onl}^  say,  that  as 
long  as  Mr.  Lincoln  hoped  to  save  the  Union  without  touching 
slavery,  he  did  not  proclaim  emancipation.  In  Europe,  this  mod- 
eration has  been  imperfe6tly  understood:  the  President  has  been 
often  reproached  for  what  was  to  him  a  claim  of  honor.  What- 
ever were  Mr.  Lincoln's  personal  sentiments,  however  opposed 
he  was  to  slavery,  he  set  the  duty  of  the  magistrate  before  every 
thing.  He  had  found  slavery  in  the  Constitution  that  he  had 
sworn  to  maintain;  as  president,  he  had  not  the  right,  therefore, 
to  touch  it. 


324  Eulogies^  Speeches^  and  Letters. 

But  this  same  Constitution  gave  the  President  the  right  to 
seize  the  property  of  the  enemy,  and  to  take  all  measures  neces- 
sary for  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion.  After  waiting  more 
than  a  year,  therefore,  Mr.  Lincoln  issued  a  proclamation,  Sep- 
tember 22,  1862,  declaring  that,  from  the  first  of  January,  1863, 
all  slaves  belonging  to  the  States  at  war  with  the  Union  should 
be  for  ever  free.  From  this  epoch,  liberty  legally  took  a  place  on 
the  soil  of  America:  it  remains  now  to  establish  it  there  in  fa6t, — 
a  great  measure,  which  would  have  demanded  all  the  prudence  of 
Mr.  Lincoln. 

In  the  four  years  of  a  presidency  sustained  amidst  the  hazards 
of  civil  war,  this  obscure  Illinois  lawyer,  elevated  to  the  Chief 
Magistracy  by  the  caprice  of  a  popular  vote,  succeeded  in  win- 
ning public  esteem  to  such  a  degree,  by  his  firmness  and  good 
sense,  that  a  unanimous  vote  called  for  the  second  time  to  a  seat 
in  the  White  House  him  whom  public  opinion  had  so  justly 
named  "  Honest  Abraham."  This  time  it  was  not  only  the  parti- 
sans of  the  first  election  that  united  to  secure  the  success  of  their 
candidate  and  to  profit  by  his  success ;  but  his  former  adversaries, 
with  one  of  the  most  important  men  in  America,  Edward  Everett, 
at  their  head,  hastened  in  crowds  to  rally  round  the  President, 
and  energetically  to  oppose  the  unlucky  ele6lion  of  General  Mc- 
Clellan.  By  his  patriotic  devotion,  Lincoln  had  identified  himself 
with  his  country:  without  seeking  it,  he  had  become  the  man  of 
the  situation.  His  triumph  was  the  triumph  of  the  Union,  and  the 
end  of  the  civil  war.  His  vi6lory  was  the  vi6tory  itself  of  the 
Constitution  and  the  laws. 

To  him,  still  as  simple  and  as  modest,  —  I  should  say  still 
more  modest  and  more  deeply  penetrated  with  the  sentiment  of 
his  responsibility, — this  honor  only  seemed  a  new  means  of  serv- 
ing his  country.  His  Inaugural  Address  to  Congress,  March  4, 
1865,  shows  us  what  progress  had  been  made  in  his   soul.     This 


Edotiard  Laboulaye.  325 


piece  of  familiar  eloquence  is  a  masterpiece:  it  is  the  testament 
of  a  patriot.  I  do  not  believe  that  any  eulogy  of  the  President 
would  equal  this  page  on  which  he  has  depi6ted  himself  in  all  his 
greatness  and  all  his  simplicity. 

I  know  not  whether  I  am  mistaken ;  but  it  seems  to  me,  that, 
in  these  words,  so  different  from  the  ordinary  language  of  the  pol- 
itician, in  this  appeal  to  humility  and  resignation,  in  this  religious 
submission,  we  feel  an  indescribable  self-abnegation,  and  a  pre- 
sentiment, as  it  were,  of  a  speedy  end,  which  makes  us  shudder. 
Mr.  Lincoln,  however,  did  not  fear  death.  To  all  the  threats  that 
were  addressed  to  him,  as  to  all  the  anxiety  with  which  it  was 
sought  to  inspire  him,  he  had  an  answer  ready  at  the  bottom  of 
his  heart,  —  that  of  our  old  knights,  whose  soul  was  not  more 
noble  than  that  of  the  Springfield  lawyer,  — Do  thy  devoir^  happen 
what  may. 

In  the  present  situation,  the  loss  of  Mr.  Lincoln  is  a  great  one 
to  America.  I  know  that  in  a  country  which  rules  itself  a  man 
is  less  necessary  than  elsewhere;  and  there  is  reason  to  have  con- 
fidence in  the  new  president,  who  also  has  elevated  himself  by 
persistent  labor,  and  who  has  long  shown  courage  and  energy. 
But,  whatever  may  be  the  merit  of  Mr.  Johnson,  he  has  not  be- 
hind him  four  years  of  moderation  which  gives  confidence  to  all, 
and  which  might  disarm  the  hatred  in  the  North  as  in  the  South. 
We  may  hope,  however,  that  Mr.  Lincoln's  policy  will  be  fol- 
lowed by  his  successor:  he  will  find  around  him  statesmen  like 
Mr.  Seward,  generals  like  Grant,  a  whole  tradition  which  cannot 
be  too  carefully  preserved,  if  it  is  wished  to  complete  the  work  of 
Mr.  Lincoln.  To  pacify  minds  after  four  years  of  civil  war  is  an 
undertaking  even  more  difBcult  than  to  pacify  the  country:  it 
needs  as  much  goodness  as  energy. 

America  will  not  be  the  only  one  that  will  honor  Mr.  Lincoln. 
It  is  not  to   his   country  alone  that  Mr.   Lincoln   has  rendered   a 


326  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 

service:  it  is  to  all  humanity.  History,  it  must  be  admitted,  is 
too  often  only  a  school  of  immorality.  It  shows  us  the  victory  of 
force  or  stratagem,  much  more  than  the  success  of  justice,  mod- 
eration, and  probity.  It  is  too  often  only  the  apotheosis  of  tri- 
umphant selfishness.  There  are  noble  and  great  exceptions: 
happy  those  who  can  increase  the  number,  and  thus  bequeath  a 
noble  and  beneficent  example  to  posterity!  Mr.  Lincoln  is  among 
these.  He  would  willingl}^  have  repeated,  after  Franklin,  that 
"  falsehood  and  artifice  are  the  pra6tice  of  fools,  who  have  not  wit 
enough  to  be  honest:  "  all  his  private  life,  and  all  his  political  life, 
was  inspired  and  dire6led  by  this  profound  faith  in  the  omnipo- 
tence of  virtue.  It  is  through  this  again  that  he  deserves  to  be 
compared  to  Washington:  it  is  through  this  that  he  will  remain 
in  history  with  the  most  glorious  name  that  can  be  merited  by  the 
head  of  a  free  people,  —  a  name  given  him  by  his  contemporaries, 
and  which  will  be  preserved  to  him  by  posterity,  —  that  of  Hon- 
est Abraham  Lincoln. 


LETTER    FROM    HENRI   MARTIN: 


TRANSLATED    FROM    THE    PARIS    ''  SIECLE. 


s 


LAVERY,  before  expiring,  has  gathered  up  the  remnants  of 
its   strengfth   and   racre   to   strike  a  coward  blow  at  its  con- 


querer. 

The  Satanic  pride  of  that  perverted  society  could  not  resign 
itself  to  defeat:  it  did  not  care  to  fall  with  honor,  as  all  causes  fall 
which  are  destined  to  rise  again:  it  dies  as  it  has  lived,  violating 
all  laws,  divine  and  human. 

In  this  we  have  the  spirit,  and  perhaps  the  work,  of  that 
famous  secret  association,  "The  Golden  Circle,"  which,  after 
preparing  the  great  rebellion  for  twenty  years,  and  spreading  its 
accomplices  throughout  the  West  and  North,  around  the  seat  of 
the  presidency,  gave  the  signal  for  this  impious  war  on  the  day 
when  the  public  conscience  finally  snatched  from  the  slaveholders 
the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

The  day  on  which  the  excellent  man  whom  they  have  just 
made  a  martyr  was  raised  to  power,  they  appealed  to  force,  to 
realize  what  treason  had  prepared. 

They  have  failed.  They  did  not  succeed  in  overthrowing 
Lincoln  from  power  by  war:    they  have  done  so  by  assassination. 

The  plot  appears  to  have  been  well  arranged.  By  striking 
down  with  the  President  his  two  principal  ministers,  one  of  whom 
they  reached,  and  the   General-in-chief,  who   was   saved  by  an     ^ 


328  Eulogies,  Speeches,  and  Letters. 


accidental  occurrence,  the  murderers  expe6led  to  disorganize  the 
Government  of  the  RepubHc,  and  give  fresh  life  to  the  re- 
bellion. 

Their  hopes  will  be  frustrated.  These  sanguinary  fanatics, 
whose  cause  has  fallen  not  so  much  by  the  material  superiority  as 
the  moral  power  of  democracy,  have  become  incapable  of  under- 
standing the  effects  of  the  free  institutions  which  their  fathers 
gloriously  aided  in  establishing.  A  fresh  illustration  will  be  seen 
of  what  those  institutions  can  produce. 

The  indignation  of  the  people  will  not  exhaust  itself  in  a  mo- 
mentary outburst;  it  will  concentrate  and  embody  itself  in  the 
unanimous,  persevering,  invincible  a6tion  of  the  universal  will: 
whoever  may  be  the  agents,  the  instruments  of  the  work,  that 
work,  we  may  rest  assured,  will  be  finished.  The  e^^ent  will 
show  that  it  did  not  depend  upon  the  life  of  one  man,  or  of  sev- 
eral men. 

The  work  will  be  completed  after  Lincoln,  as  if  finished  by 
him;  but  Lincoln  will  remain  the  austere  and  sacred  personifica- 
tion of  a  great  epoch,  the  most  faithful  expression  of  democracy. 

This  simple  and  upright  man,  prudent  and  strong,  elevated 
step  by  step  from  the  artisan's  bench  to  the  command  of  a  great 
nation,  and  always,  without  parade  and  without  eftbrt,  at  the  height 
of  his  position;  executing  without  precipitation,  without  flourish, 
and  with  invincible  good  sense,  the  most  colossal  afts;  giving  to 
the  world  this  decisive  example  of  the  civil  power  in  a  republic; 
direfting  a  gigantic  war,  without  free  institutions  being  for  an 
instant  compromised  or  threatened  by  military  usurpation;  dying, 
finally,  at  the  moment  in  which,  after  conquering,  he  was  intent 
on  pacification,  —  and  may  God  grant,  that  the  atrocious  madmen 
who  killed  him  have  not  killed  clemency  with  him,  and  deter- 
mined, instead  of  the  peace  he  wished,  pacification  by  force!  — 
this   man  will  stand  out,  in  the  traditions  of  his  country  and  the 


Henri  A  Tar  tin. 


329 


world,  as  an  incarnation  of  the  people,  and  of  modern  democracy 
itself 

The  great  work  of  emancipation  had  to  be  sealed,  therefore, 
with  the  blood  of  the  just,  even  as  it  was  inaugurated  with  the 
blood  of  the  just.  The  tragic  history  of  the  abolition  of  slavery, 
which  opened  with  the  gibbet  of  John  Brown,  will  close  with  the 
assassination  of  Lincoln. 

And  now  let  him  rest  by  the  side  of  Washington,  as  the  second 
founder  of  the  great  Republic.  European  democracy  is  present 
in  spirit  at  his  funeral,  as  it  voted  in  its  heart  for  his  re-ele(5tion, 
and  applauded  the  vi6tory  in  the  midst  of  which  he  passes  away. 
It  will  wish  with  one  accord  to  associate  itself  with  the  monument 
that  America  will  raise  to  him  upon  the  capital  of  prostrate  sla- 
very. 

HENRI   MARTIN. 


42 


%^ 


APPENDIX. 


^J^ 


APPENDIX. 


NOTE   FROM   THE   REV.  ELIAS   NASON. 

QUITE  a  serious  error  has  crept  into  the  biographies  of  Mr.  Lincohi,  in 
respe6l  to  his  parentage.  His  mother's  name  is  said  to  be  Nancy  Hanks^ 
while  in  reahty  it  was  Nancy  Sparrow.  Our  late  iUustrious  Chief  Magistrate 
was  born  in  Hardin  County,  Kentucky,  on  the  twelfth  day  of  February,  1809, 
and  was  the  son  of  Mr.  Thomas  and  Nancy  [Sparrow]  Lincoln.  The  other 
children  were  Sarah,  who  married  Mr.  Grigsby,  and  died  in  Indiana  ;  and  a 
son,  who  died  in  infancy. 

Thomas  Lincoln  was  the  son  of  Abraham,  who  was  shot  by  an  Indian  in 
17S4.  His  children  were  Mordecai,  who  avenged  the  death  of  his  father; 
Joseph,  Mar}^,  Nancy,  and  Thomas.  The  family  is  very  probably  from  the 
New-England  stock,  which  settled  at  Hingham  previous  to  1640.  Thomas 
Lincoln  was  a  man  of  integrity,  But  could  neither  read  nor  write.  He  married 
Miss  Nancy  Sparrow  in  1S06.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Henry  and  Lucy 
[Hanks]  Sparrow  ;  was  born  in  Mercer  County,  Kentucky,  and  grew  up  in  the 
family  of  her  uncle,  William  Hanks.  She  was  tall  and  commanding  in  person, 
could  read  and  write,  was  a  good  singer,  and  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church. 
Her  name  was  mentioned  by  her  neighbors  only  to  be  praised.  She  had  a 
sister  Mary,  who  married  Thomas  Whitehouse  ;  another  sister,  Sarah,  and  two 
brothers,  Thomas  and  Henry.  She  died  in  181S.  Mr.  Thomas  Lincoln  inar- 
ried,  for  his  second  wife,  Mrs.  Sarah  [Bush]  Johnson,  of  Hardin  County,  Ken- 
tucky, who  still  lives  with  her  daughter  Matilda,  on  the  farm  which  Mr.  Lincoln 
bought  for  his  father,  Thomas,  in  Cole's  County,  Illinois. 


North  Billerica,  Mass.,  Aug.  28,  1865. 


i3ii)Uograi3i)iral  Higit  of  ISoot^  anti  13ampi)(rt."5 ; 


CONTAINING 


SERJIIONS,     ORATIONS,     EULOGIES,     POEMS, 


OR  OTHER  PAPERS  RELATING  TO 


THE     ASSASSINATION.     DEATH,     AND     FUNERAL     OBSEQUIES 

OF    ABRAHAM     LINCOLN. 


The  following  is  not  offered  as  a  complete  Catalogue  upon  the  subjett  to  which  it 
relates :  it  embraces  only  such  works  as  are  in  the  possession  of  the  compiler  of  this  vol- 
ume, and  is  printed  simply  to  aid  whoever  may  contemplate  a  more  elaborate  publication 
of  the  same  charafter. 

Allen,  Rev.  Ethax.     Sermon  delivered  at  St.  Thomas  Church,  Homestead, 

Baltimore  Co.,  Md.,  June  i,  1865.     Baltimore.      i3mo.     pp.  13. 
Andrew,   Hon.  John  A.      Message  to  Massachusetts    Legislature,  July   17, 

1S65.     Boston.     8vo,     pp.  8. 
Atavood,  Rev.  E.  S.     Two  Sermons  delivered  in  Salem,  Mass.,  April  17,  and 

June  I,  1S65.     Salem.     Svo.     pp.  31. 
Babcock,  Rev.  S.  D.     Sermon  delivered  at  "Dedham,  Mass.,  April  19,  1865. 

Dedham.     Svo.     pp.  16. 
Badger,  Rev.  H.  C.     Sermon  preached  at  Cambridgeport,  April  23,   1861. 

Boston.     Svo.     pp.  iS. 
Bancroft,  Hon.  Geo.     Article  "  Atlantic  Monthh-,"  June,  1865. 
Barnes,  Rev.  A.     Sermon  preached  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  June  i,  1865.     Phil- 

adelphiti.     Svo.     pp.  74. 
Bartol,   Rev.   C.  A.,   D.D.      Sermon    preached    in  West   Church,    Boston, 
June  I,  1865.     Boston.     "  Monthly  Religious  Magazine,"  for  July.     pp.  8. 
Benjamin,  S.  W.  G.    Ode  on  the  Death  of  Abraham  Lincoln.    Boston.     i2mo. 

PP-  15- 
Bingham,  Rev.  Joel  F.     Sermon  preached  in  Buffalo,  N.Y.,  May  7,   1865. 

Buffalo,  N.Y.     Svo.     pp.  36. 


Bibliographical  List  of  Books  and  Parnphlets.  335 

BiNNEY,    Hon.   Wm.     Oration    delivered   in   Providence,   R.I.,  June    i,    1865. 

Providence,  R.I.     8vo.     pp.  56. 
BiNNS,  Rev.  W.     Sermon  preached  in  Birkenhead,  England,  April,  30,  1S65. 

Birkenhead.      161T10.     pp.  13. 
Blackburn,  Rev.  W.  M.     Sermon  preached  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  April 

16,  1S65.     Trenton,  N.J.     Svo.     pp.  24. 
Bliss,   Rev.   T.   E.     Sermon    preached    at  Memphis,   Tenn.,  April   33,    1S65. 

Memphis,  Tenn.     Svo.     pp.  16. 
BoARDMAN,  Rev,  G.  D.     Two  Sermons  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April 

16  and  19,  1S65.     Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  64. 
BoARDMAX,  Rev.  H.  A.,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  June  i, 

1S65.     Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  32. 
Booth,  Rev.  R.,  D.D.    Sermon  preached  at  New  York,  April  23,  1S65.     New 

York.     Svo.     pp.  23. 
BouTWELL,  Hon.  G.  S.     Eulogy  delivered  at  Lowell,  Mass.,  April   19,   1S65. 

Lowell,  ]\Iass.     Svo.     pp.  67. 
Brakeman,  Rev.  N.  L.     Sermon  preached  at  Baton  Rouge,  La.,  April  23, 

1S65.     New  Orleans,  La.     Svo.     pp.  32. 
Briggs,  Rev.  G.  W.,  D.D.     Eulogy  delivered  at  Salem,  Mass.,  with  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  City  Council,  June  i,  1865.     Salem,  Mass.     Svo.     pp.  48. 
Brooks,   Rev.    P.     Sermon   preached    at    Philadelphia,   Pa.,   April   23,    1S65. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  24. 
Broome,  W.  W.     Abraham  Lincoln's  Chara6ler  sketched  by  English  Travel- 
lers.    Svo.     pp.  4. 
BulkleY,  Rev.  E.  A.     Sermon  preached  at  Plattsburgh,  N.Y.,  April  19,  1865. 

Plattsburgh,  N.Y.     Svo.     pp.  16. 
Bullock,  Hon.  A.  H.     Eulogy  delivered  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  June  i,  1S65. 

Worcester.     Svo.     pp.  49. 
Burns,  Rev.  R.  F.     Address  delivered  at  St.  Catherine's,  C.W.,  April,     pp. 

23.      See  "  Maple  Leaves." 
Burrows,  Rev.  J.  L.,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  at  Richmond,  Va.,  April  23, 

1S65.     Richmond,  Va.     Svo.     pp.  12. 
Butler,  Rev.  C.  M.,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  19, 

1865.     Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  33. 
Butler,  Rev.  H.  E.     Sermon  preached  at  Keeseville,  N.Y.,  April  33,  1865. 

Burlington,  Vt.     Svo.     pp.  23. 
Butler,  Rev.  J.  G.     Sermon  preached  at  Washington,  D.C.,  April   16,  1865. 

Washington,  D.C.     Svo.     pp.  14. 


i^^6  Appe7idix. 


Carey,  Rev.  I.  C.  Sermon  delivered  at  Frecport,  111.,  April  19,  1S65.  Free- 
port,  III.     Svo.     pp.  8. 

Carey,  Rev.  I.  C.  Sermon  delivered  at  Freeport  111.,  June  i,  1S65.  Free- 
port,  111.     Svo.     pp.  8. 

Carnahan,  Rev.  D.  T.  Sermon  preached  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  June  i,  1865. 
Gettysburg,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  24. 

Chaffin,  Rev.  W.  L.  Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  23,  1865. 
Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  18. 

Chamberlain,  Rev.  N.  H.  Sermon  preached  at  Birmingham,  Conn.,  April  19, 
1865.     New  York.      i2mo.     pp.22. 

Chase,  Prof.  Thomas.  Address  delivered  at  Haverford  College,  West  Haver- 
ford,  Pa.,  on  fifth-day  evening,  seventh  month,  6th,  1865. 

Chester,  Rev.  John.  Sermon  preached  at  Washington,  D.C.,  April  16,  1865. 
Washington,  D.C.     Svo.     pp.  16. 

Clark,  Rev.  A.  Sermon  preached  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  April  19,  1S65.  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio.     Svo.     pp.  16. 

Clark,  Hon.  Dan'l.  Eulogy  delivered  at  Manchester,  N.H.,  June  i,  1S65. 
Manchester,  N.H.     Svo.     pp.  36. 

Clarke,  Rev.  J.  F.,  D.D.  Sermon  preached  in  Indiana-Place  Chapel,  Boston, 
January  16,  1865.     Boston.      i6mo.     pp.  24. 

Colfax,  Hon.  S.  Address  delivered  at  South  Bend,  Ind.,  April  24,  1S65. 
Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  29. 

CoLMAN,  Rev.  G.  W.  Sermon  preached  at  Afton,  Mass.,  April  16,  1865. 
Boston,  Mass.     Svo.     pp.  15. 

Commemorative  Proceedings  of  the  Athenasum  Club,  New  York,  on  the  Death 
of  Abraham  Lincoln.     New  York.     Svo.     pp.  37. 

Cooper,  Rev.  Jas.  Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  16,  1865. 
Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  24. 

Craig,  Rev.  W.  Sermon  preached  at  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  April  23,  1865. 
New  Bedford.     Svo,     pp.  14. 

Crane,  Rev.  C.  B.  Sermon  preached  at  Hartford,  Conn,,  April  16,  1S65. 
Hartford,  Conn.     Svo.     pp.  29. 

Crocker,  S.  L.,  Jun.,  Esq.  Eulogy  delivered  at  Taunton,  Mass.,  June  i,  1865. 
Boston.     Svo.     pp.  28, 

Crozier,  Rev.  H.  P.  Sermon  preached  at  Huntington,  N,Y.,  April  19,  1865. 
Huntington,  N.Y.     Svo.     pp.  16. 

Cudworth,  Rev.  W.  H.  Eulogy  delivered  at  East  Boston,  May  8,  1S65. 
Boston.     Svo.     pp.  27. 


Bibliographical  List  of  Books  and  Pamphlets.  337 


CusHMAN,  Rev.  R.   S.     Sermon  preached  at  Manchester,  Vt.,  April  19,  1S65. 

Manchester,  Vt.     8vo.     pp.  20. 
Cutler,   Rev.  E!  T.     Sermon  preached  at  Rockland,  Me.,  April   19,   1S65. 

Boston.     8vo.     pp.  16. 
Daggett,  Rev.  O.  E.     Sermon  preached  at  Canandaigua,  N.Y.,  April   16, 

1865.     Canandaigua,  N.Y.     8vo.     pp.  16. 
Darling,  Rev.  H.,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  at  Albany,  N.Y.,  April  19,  1865. 

Albany,  N.Y.     8vo.     pp.  24. 
Dascomb,  Rev.  A.  B.     Sermon  preached  at  Waitsfield,  Vt.,  April  23.     8vo. 

pp.  23. 
Davidson,  Rev.  R.,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  at  Huntington,  N.Y.,  April  19, 

1865.     Huntington,  N.Y.     8vo.     pp.  12. 
Day,  Rev.  P.  B.     Sermon  preached  at  Hollis,  N.H.,  June  i,  1S65.     Concord, 

N.H.     8vo.     pp.  20. 
Dean,  Hon.  S.     Eulogy  delivered  at  Providence,  R.I.,  April  19,  1865.     Provi- 
dence, R.I.     Svo.     pp.  23. 
Deming,  Hon.  H.  C.     Eulogy  delivered  at  Hartford,  Conn.,  June   i,   1S65. 

Hartford,  Conn.     Cloth.     8vo.     pp.  58. 
De  Normandie,  Rev.  James.     Sermon  preached  at  Portsmouth,  N.H.,  April 

16,  1865.     Portsmouth,  N.H.     i6mo.     pp.  8. 
Dlx,  Rev.  M.     Sermon  preached  at  New  York,  April  19,  1865.     Cambridge, 

Mass.     8vo.     pp.  16. 
Drumm,  Rev.  J.  H.,  M.D.     Sermon  preached  at  Bristol,  Pa.,  April  16,  1865. 

Bristol,  Pa.      i2mo.     pp.  21. 
DuANE,  Rev.  R.  B.     Sermon  preached  at  Providence,  R.I.,  April  19,  1865. 

Providence,  R.I.     8vo.     pp.  15. 
Dudley,  Rev.  J.  L.     Sermon  preached  at  Middletown,  April  16,  1865.     Mid- 

dletown,  Conn,     Svo.     pp.  28. 
DuFFiELD,    Rev.    G.     Sermon    preached    at  Detroit,   Mich.,   April    16,    1S65. 

Detroit.     8vo.     pp.  18. 
Dunning,   Rev,   H.     Address   delivered  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  April   19,    1S65. 

Baltimore,  Md.     Svo.     pp.  12. 
Dunning,   Rev.   H.     Sermon   preached   at  Baltimore,  Md,,  April   23,   1S65, 

Baltimore,  Md,     Svo.     pp,  12, 
Dunning,  Rev,  H.     Sermon  preached  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  May  7,   1S65,     Svo. 

Baltimore,  Md.     pp.  12. 
Dyer,  Rev.  D.     Sermon  preached  at  Albany,  April  19,  1865.     Albany,  N.Y. 

Svo,     pp.  20. 

43 


;i^S  Appendix. 


Eddv,  Rev.  D.  C,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  at  Boston,  April  i6,  1S65.     Bos- 
ton.    32mo.     pp.  23. 
Eddy,  Rev.  R.     Three  Sermons  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April   16  and 

19,  and  June  i,  1S65.     Philadelphia,  Pa.     8vo.     pp.  27. 
Edgar,  Rev.  C.  H.,  D.D.     Three  Sermons  preached  at  Easton,  Pa.,  April  16 

and  19,  and  May  3.     8vo.     pp.  20. 
Edgar,  Rev.  C.  H.,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  at  Easton,  Pa.,  June  i.     Easton, 

Pa.     8vo.     pp.  12. 
Edwards,  Rev.  H.  L.     Sermon  preached  at  South  Abington,  June   i,  1865. 

Boston.     8vo.     pp.  16. 
Egar,  Rev.  J.  H.,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  at  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  June  i, 

1865.     Leavenworth,  Kan.     8vo.     pp.  16. 
EiNHORN,  Rev.  D.,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.     Printed  in 

German.     Philadelphia,  Pa.     8vo.     pp.  8. 
Ellis,  C.  M.,  Esq.     Address  delivered  at  St'.  John,  N.B.,  June  i,  1865.     St. 

John,  N.B.      i6mo.     pp.  31. 
Ellis,  Rev.  R.     Sermon  preached  in  Boston,  June  16.     "  Monthly  Religious 

Magazine,"  May,  1865. 
Ellis,  Rev.  R.     Address  delivered  in  Boston,  June  19.     "  Monthly  Religious 

Magazine,"  May,  1865. 
Everett,   Rev.  C.  C.     Two  Sermons  preached  at  Bangor,  April   16  and  19. 

Bangor,  Me.     8vo.     pp.  25. 
Everett,  Rev.  C.  C.     Eulogy  delivered  at  Bangor,  Me.,  June  i,  1865.     Ban- 
gor.    8vo.     pp.  30. 
Farquhar,  Rev.  J.     Sermon  preached  in  Lower  Chanceford,  York  Co.,  Pa., 

June  I,  1865.     Lancaster,  Pa.     8vo.     pp.  23. 
Field,  Rev.  T.  P.,  D.D.     See  Wilcox. 
Fowler,    Rev.    H.      Sermon    preached    at    Auburn,    N.Y.,    April    23,    1865. 

Auburn,  N.Y.     Svo.     pp.  16. 
Fowler,  J.,  Jun.     Eulogy  delivered  at  New  Rochelle,  N.Y.,  April  23,  1865. 

New  York.     Svo.     pp.  28. 
Frothingham,  Rev.  O.  B.     Article,  "  Friend  of  Progress,"  New  York,  June, 

1865. 
Gaddis,  Rev.  M.  P.     Sermon  preached  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  April  16,   1865. 

Cincinnati,  Ohio.     8vo.     pp.  i^ 
Garrison,  Rev.  J.  F..  ALD.      Sermon  preached  at  Camden,  N.J.,  April   19, 

1S65.     Camden,  N.J.     8vo.     pp.  20. 
Gear,  Rev.  D.  L.     Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  23.     Phila- 
delphia, Pa.     Svo.     pp.  8. 


BibliograpJiical  List  of  Books  and  Pamphlets.  339 

Gillette,  Rev.  A.  G.,  D.D.  Sermon  preached  at  Washington,  D.C.,  April 
23,  1865.     Washington,  D.C.     8vo.     pp.  15. 

Glover,  Rev.  L.  M.,  D.D.  Sermon  preached  at  Jacksonville,  111.,  April  33, 
1865.     Jacksonville,  111.     8vo.     pp.  21. 

Gordon,  Rev.  W.  R.,  D.D.  Sermon  preached  at  Schraalenberg,  N.J.,  May  7, 
1865.     New  York.     8vo.     pp.  24. 

GuRLEY,  Rev.  P.  D.,  D.D.  Sermon  preached  at  Washington,  D.C,  June  i, 
1865.     Washington,  D.C.     8vo.     pp.  16. 

GuTiiRiE,  Dr.  W.  E.  Oration  addressed  to  the  American  People.  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.     32mo.     pp.  9. 

Hale,  Rev.  E.  E.  "  The  President's  Words."  Boston,  1865.  i  vol.,  cloth. 
i6mo.     pp.  186, 

Hall,  Rev.  C.  H.  Sermon  preached  at  Washington,  D.C,  April  16,  1865. 
Washington,  D.C.     8vo.     pp.  15. 

Hall,  Rev.  G.,  D.D.  Sermon  preached  at  Northampton,  Mass.,  April  19, 
1865.     Northampton,  Alass.     8vo.     pp.  16. 

Hall,  Rev.  N.  Sermon  preached  at  Surrey  Chapel,  London,  May  14.  Bos- 
ton, Mass.     8vo.     pp.  16. 

Hammond,  Rev.  C  Sermon  preached  at  Monson,  IVIass.,  June  i,  1865. 
Springfield,  Mass.     8vo.     pp.  21. 

Hannaford,  Mrs.  P.  A.  "  The  Martyred  President."  Poem.  Boston.  Svo. 
pp.  24. 

Hardinge,  Miss  E.  Oration  delivered  at  New  York,  April  16,  1865.  New 
York.     8vo.     pp.  28. 

Hathaway,  Rev.  W.  Sermon  preached  at  Coxsackie,  April  19,  1S65. 
Albany,  N.Y.     8vo.     pp.  24. 

Haven,  Rev.  G.  Sermon  preached  at  Boston,  Mass.,  April  23,  1865.  Bos- 
ton, Mass.     8vo.     pp.  32. 

Hawley,  Rev.  B.,  D.D.  Sermon  preached  at  Albany,  N.Y. ,  April  20,  1865. 
Albany,  N.Y.     Svo.     pp.  20. 

Hayden,  Mrs.  C  A.  "  A  Tribute  to  Abraham  Lincoln."  Poem.  Boston. 
i2mo.     pp.  23. 

Hepworth,  Rev.  G.  H.  Two  Sermons  preached  at  Boston,  April  23,  1865. 
Boston.      i2mo.     pp.  27. 

Hepworth,  Rev.  G.  H.     Sermon  preached  at  Boston.     Boston,  Mass.     i2mo. 

PP-  31- 
HiBBARD,   Rev.  A.   G.     Sermon   preached  at  Detroit,  Mich.,  April   16,  1865. 

Detroit,  Mich.     8vo.     pp.  12. 


340  Appendix. 


Hitchcock,  Rev.  H.  L.     Sermon  preached  at  Hudson,  Ohio,  April  19,  1865. 

Cleveland,  Ohio.     8vo.     pp.  23. 
Hodge,  Rev.  C,  D.D.     Article  from  "  Princeton  Review."    New  York.     8vo. 

pp.  24. 
Hoffman,  Rev.  E.  A.     Sermon  preached  at  Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  April  26,  1865. 

New  York.     8vo.     pp.  16. 
Holland,  Dr.  J.  G.     Eulogy  delivered  at  Springfield,  Mass.,  April  19,  1865, 

with    Observances    of    the    City   Authorities.       Springfield,     Mass.      8vo. 

pp.  32. 
HowLETT,  Rev.  T.  R.     Sermon  preached  at  Washington,  D.C.,  June  i,  1865. 

Washington,  D.C.     8vo.     pp.  7. 
"  Ix  Memoriam."      Abraham   Lincoln.      New  York.      8vo.     pp.  32.     With 

portrait. 
Ives,  Rev.  A.  E.     Sermon  preached  at  Castine,  Me.     Bangor.     8vo.     pp.  14. 
Jeffrey,  Rev.  R.     Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  June  i,  1865.     Phil- 
adelphia, Pa.     8vo.     pp.  28. 
Johnston,  Rev.  E.  H.     Sermon  preached  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  June  i,  1865. 

Harrisburg,  Pa.     8vo.     pp.  11. 
Johnston,   Rev.   H,     Sermon   preached   at  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  April  23,   1865. 

Pittsburgh,  Pa.     8vo.     pp.  11. 
Johnson,  Rev.  Sam'l.     Discourse  preached  at  Lynn,  Mass.,  April   19,  1865. 

Printed,  not  published.     8vo.     pp.  10. 
Keeling,  Rev.  R.  J.     Sermon  preached  at  Washington,  D.C,  April  23,  1865. 

Washington,  D.C.     8vo.     pp.  16. 
Krauth,  Rev.  C.  P.,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  at  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  June  i,  1865. 

Pittsburgh,  Pa.     8vo.     pp.  23, 
Krebs,   Rev.   Hugo,   D.D.     Sermon  preached  at   St.  Louis,  Mo.,  April   19, 

1865.     Pristed  in  German.     St.  Louis,  Mo.     8vo.     pp.  8. 
Krebs,  Rev.  Hugo,  D.D.     The  same  translated  into  English.     8vo.     pp.  8. 
Krummacher,  Dr.     See  Sturz. 
Laurie,   Rev.   Thomas.     Two   Sermons  preached   at  West  Roxbury,  Mass., 

April  19  and  23,  1865.     Dedham,  Mass.     8vo.     pp.  40. 
"  Lincolniana,"  containing  Forty   Sermons,    Orations,   Eulogies,   Addresses, 

Speeches,  and  Letters.     Boston,  1865.      i  vol.     Small  4to.     pp.  viii.  346. 
LiEBER,  Francis.     "The  Martyr's  Monument."     New  York,     i  vol.     i2mo. 

pp.  297. 
"  Lincoln  Memorial."      City  of  Boston,     i  vol.,  cloth.     8vo.,  large^paper. 

PP-  153- 


Bibliographical  List  of  Books  and  Pamphlets.  341 

"  Lincoln  Memorial."  A  Record  of  the  Life,  Assassination,  and  Obsequies  of 
the  Martyred  President.     New  York,     i  vol.     Svo.     pp.  28S. 

Lowe,  Rev.  Charles.  Sermon  preached  in  Charleston,  S.C,  April  23,  1S65. 
Boston.      i2mo.     pp.  24. 

LowRiE,  Rev.  J.  M.  Sermon  preached  at  Fort  Wayne.  Ind.,  April  16,  1S65. 
Fort  Wayne,  Ind.     Svo.     pp.  16. 

Ludlow,  Rev.  J.  M.  Sermon  preached  at  Albany,  N.Y.,  April  23,  1S65. 
Alban}',  N.Y.     Svo.     pp.  27. 

MacEl'Rey,  Rev.  J.  H.,  M.D.  Sermon  preached  at  Wooster,  Ohio,  April  16, 
1S65.     Wooster,  Ohio.     i2mo.     pp.  24. 

McCauley,  Rev.  James.  Sermon  preached  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  June  i,  1S65. 
Baltimore,  Md.     Svo.     pp.  16. 

McClintock,  Rev.  J.  H.,  D.  D.  Sermon  preached  at  New  York,  April  19, 
1865.     New  York.     Svo.     pp.  35. 

"  Maple  Leaves  from  Canada  for  the  Grave  of  Abraham  Lincoln," 
being  a  Discourse  by  Rev.  Robert  Norton,  and  an  Address  by  Rev.  Robert 
F.  Burns,  together  with  Proceedings  of  Public  Meeting  at  St.  Catherine's, 
C.W.,  April  23,  1865,  &c.     St.  Catherine's,  C.W.     Svo.     pp.  40. 

Marshall,  Rev.  J.  Sermon  preached  near  Fortress  Monroe,  April  29,  1S65. 
Syracuse,  N.Y.     Svo.     pp.  40. 

Mayo,  Rev.  A.  D.  Two  Sermons  preached  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  April  16  and 
19,  1S65.     Cincinnati,  Ohio.     Svo.     pp.  2S. 

Miller,  Hon.  S.  F.  Eulogy  delivered  at  Franklin,  N.Y.,  June  i,  1S65. 
Delhi,  N.Y.     Svo.     pp.  16. 

Mitchell,  Rev.  S.  S.  Address  delivered  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  April  19,  1S65. 
Harrisburg,  Pa.     pp.  15. 

Morais,  Rev.  S.  Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  June  i,  1865.  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.     Svo.     pp.  8. 

Morehouse,  Rev.  H.  L.  Sermon  preached  at  East  Saginaw,  Mich.  East 
Saginaw,  Mich.     i2mo.     pp.  16. 

Morris,  B.  F.,  Esq.  "  The  Nation's  Tribute  to  Abraham  Lincoln."  Wash- 
ington, D.C.,  1S65.      I  vol.,  cloth.     Svo.     pp.  272. 

Myers,  Hon.  L.  Address  delivered  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  June  15,  1865. 
Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  15. 

Nadals,  Rev.  B.  H.,  D.D.  Sermon  preached  at  Washington,  D.C.,  June  r, 
1865.     Washington,  D.C.     Svo.     pp.  15. 

Nason,  Rev.  Elias.  Eulogy  delivered  at  Boston,  May  3,  1S65.  Boston. 
Svo.     pp.  28. 


342  Appaidix. 


"  National  Preacher."  New  York.  Double  number,  May  and  June. 
Contains  six  Sermons. 

Nelson,  Rev.  H.  A.  Sermon  iDreached  at  Springfield,  111.,  May  7,  1S65. 
Springfield,  111.     8vo.     pp.  39. 

Newell,  Robert.  Poem:  "The  Martyr-President."  New  York,  1S65. 
i6mo.     pp.  43. 

NiCHOLLS,  Rev.  S.  Sermon  preached  at  St.  Louis,  April  33,  1865.  St.  Louis, 
Mo.     8vo.     pp.  16. 

NiLES,  Rev.  H.  E.  Address  delivered  at  York,  Pa.,  April  19,  1S65.  York, 
Pa.     8vo.     pp.  8. 

Noble,  Rev.  M.  Sermon  preached  at  Newport,  R.I.,  April  19,  1865.  New- 
port, R.I.     8vo.     pp.  16. 

Norton,  Rev.  R.      See  Maple  Leaves. 

"  Our  Martyr-President,  Abraham  Lincoln."  Voices  from  the  Pulpits 
of  New  York  and  Brooklyn.     New  York,  1865.      i2mo.,  cloth,     pp.  420. 

Paddock,  Rev.  W.  F.  Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  23,  1865. 
Philadelphia,  Pa.     8vo.     pp.  24. 

Parke,  Rev.  N.  G.  Sermon  preached  at  Pittston,  Pa.,  June  i,  1S65.  Pittston, 
Pa.     Svo.     pp.  20. 

Parker,  Rev.  H.  C.  Sermon  pi'eached  at  Concord,  N.H.,  April  16,  1865. 
Concord,  N.H.     8vo.     pp.  15. 

Patterson,  Rev.  A.  J.  Eulogy  delivered  at  Portsmouth,  N.H.,  witli  an 
Account  of  the  Obsequies  observed  by  the  City,  April  19,  1865.  Ports- 
mouth, N.H.     8vo.     pp.  30. 

Patterson,  Hon.  J.  W.  Eulogy  delivered  at  Concord,  N.H.,  June  i,  1865. 
Concord,  N.H.     8vo.     pp.  24. 

Patterson,  Rev.  R.  M.     Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.    8vo.    pp.  44. 

Pettee,  Rev.  J.  Sermon  preached  at  Abington,  Mass.,  April  19,  1S65.  Bos- 
ton.    "  New-Jerusalem  Magazine,"  May,  1865. 

"  Poetical  Tributes  to  the  Memory  of  Abraham  Lincoln."  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.,  1865.      I  vol.,  cloth.      i2mo.     pp.  306. 

Potter,  Rev.  W.  J.  Four  Sermons  preached  at  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  April 
16,  19,  and  June  i  and  4.     New  Bedford,  Mass.     Svo.     pp.  67. 

Prime,  Rev.  G.  W.  Sermon  preached  at  Detroit,  Mich.,  April  16,  1S65. 
Detroit,  Mich.     8vo.     pp.  16. 

Proceedings  of  the  City  Council  of  Balitmore,  Md.,  April  15,  1S65.  Balti- 
more.    Svo.     pp.  24. 

Proceedings  of  the  City  Council  of  Boston,  Mass.,  April  17,  1S65.  Boston. 
Svo.     pp.  35. 


Bibliograph  ica  I L  ist  of  Books  and  Pa  mph  lets.  343 

Proceedings  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument  Association.  Published  in  the 
Annual  Report  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument  Association,  June  17,  1S65. 
Boston.     Svo. 

Proceedings  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  April  34,  1865.  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.     Svo.     pp.  4. 

Proceedings  of  a  called  Meeting  of  Ministers  of  all  Denominations  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  April  17,  1865.     Washington,  D.C.     8vo.     pp.  14. 

Proceedings  of  the  Union  League  of  Philadelphia,  April  15,  1S65.  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.     Svo.     pp.  23. 

Putnam,  Rev.  Geo.,  D.D.  Address  delivered  at  Roxbury,  Mass.,  with  Order 
of  Exercises,  April  19,  1865.     Roxbury,  Mass.     Svo.     pp.  15. 

Quint,  Rev.  A.  H.  Two  Sermons  preached  at  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  a.m.  and 
P.M.,  April  16,  1S65.     New  Bedford,  Mass.     Svo.     pp.  45. 

Rankin,  Rev.  J.  H.  Sermon  preached  at  Charlestown,  Mass.,  April  19,  1865. 
Boston.     Svo.     pp.  16. 

Reed,  Rev.  S.  Sermon  preached  at  Edgartown,  Mass.,  April  19,  1865.  Bos- 
ton.    Svo.     pp.  34. 

Rice,  Rev.  Daniel.  Sermon  preached  at  Lafayette,  Ind.,  April  19,  1S65. 
Lafayette,  Ind.     Svo.     pp.   7. 

Rice,  Rev.  N.  L.,  D.D.  Sermon  preached  at  New-York  city,  April  19,  1S65. 
New  York.     Svo.     pp.  16. 

RoBBiNS,  Rev.  F.  L.  Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  33,  1S65. 
Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  3i. 

Robinson,  Rev.  C.  S.  Sermon  preached  at  Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  April  16,  1S65. 
New  York.     Svo.     pp.  31. 

Russell,  Rev.  P.  Two  Sermons  preached  at  Eckley,  Pa.,  April  19,  and 
June  I,  1865.     Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  30. 

Sample,  Rev.  R.  F.  .Sermon  preached  at  Bedford,  Pa.,  April  33,  1S65. 
Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  33. 

Saunders,  R.  S.,  Esq.  Oration  delivered  on  Island  No.  40,  April  35,  1S65. 
Memphis,  Tenn.     Svo.     pp.  16. 

Searing,  Rev.  E.,  A.M.  Sermon  preached  at  Milton,  Wis.,  June  i,  1S65. 
Janesville,  Wis.     Svo.     pp.  30. 

Sedgewick,  Hon.  C.  B.  Eulogy  delivered  at  Syracuse,  N.Y.,  April  19,  1S65, 
Syracuse,  N.Y.     Svo.     pp.  16. 

Seiss,  Rev.  J.  A.,  D.D.  Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia.  Pa.,  June  i,  1S65. 
Svo.     pp.  45. 

"•'  Sermons  preached  in  Boston  on  the  Death  of  Abraham  Lincoln."  Boston. 
i2mo.     pp.379. 


344  Appendix. 


Simpson,  Rev.  M.,  D.D.    Funeral  Address  delivered  at  the  Burial  of  President 

Lincoln,  at  Springfield,  111.,  May  4,  1865.     New  York.      i2mo.     pp.  21. 
Slater,  Rev.  E.   C,  D.D.     Sermon  preached   at  Paducah,   Ky.,  April   19, 

186^.     Paducah,  Ky.     8vo.     pp.  20. 
Smith,  Rev.  H.,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  at  Buffalo,  N.Y.,  April  23,  1865. 

Buflalo,  N.Y.     Svo.     pp.  32. 
Sniveley,   Rev.   W.  A.     Sermon  and  Address  delivered  at  Pittsbui'gh,   Pa., 

April  16  and  19,  1865.     Pittsburgh,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  38. 
Spath,  Rev.  A.     (German)  Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  19, 

1865.     Philadelphia,  Pa.     8vo.     pp.  15. 
Spear,  Rev.   S.  T.,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  at  Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  April   23, 

1865.     Brooklyn,  N.Y.     8vo.     pp.  38. 
Sprague,  Rev.  W.  B.,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  at  Albany,  N.Y.,  April   16, 

1865.     Albany,  N.Y.      i2mo.     pp.  18. 
Starr,  Rev.  F.,  Jun.     Sermon  preached  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  April  16,   1865. 

St.  Louis,  Mo.     8vo.     pp.  19. 
Steiner,  L.  H.     Address  delivered  at  the  Glades,  Frederick  Co.,  Md.,  April 

23,  1865.     Philadelphia,  Pa.     8vo.     pp.  15. 
Stewart,   Rev.  D.,  D.D.     Discourse  containing  Substance  of  two   Sermons 

preached  at  Johnstown,  N.  Y.,  April  16  and   19,  1865.     Johnstown,  N.Y. 

8vo.     pp.  20. 
Stoddard,  R.  H.     An  Horatian  Ode.     New  York.     8vo.     pp.  12. 
Stone,  Rev.  A.  L.,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  in  Boston,  Mass.,  April  16,  1865. 

Boston,  Mass.     i2mo.,  large  paper,     pp.  21. 
Storrs,  Rev.  R.  S.,  Jun.,  D.D.     Oration  delivered  at  Brooklyn,  N.Y. ,  June  i, 

1865.     Brooklyn,  N.Y.     Svo.     pp.  65. 
Strong,  Rev.  J.  D.     Sermon  preached  at  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  April  16,  1865. 

San  Francisco,  Cal.     Svo.     pp.  14. 
Sturz,  J.   F.     Speeches   at  the   Funeral   Observances   at  Berlin,   Prussia,   in 

Honor  of  President  Lincoln,  by  German,  English,  and  American  Ministers. 

An  Expression  of  the  Church  respe6ling  Slavery  and  Free  Labor.     Berlin, 

Prussia.     Svo.     pp.  39. 
Swain,  Rev.  L.     Sermon  preached  at  Providence,  R.L,  April  16,  1865.    Prov- 
idence, R.I.     Svo.     pp.  10. 
Sweetser,  Rev.  S.     Sermon  preached  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  April  23,   1865. 

Worcester,  Mass.     Svo.     pp.  29. 
Sumner,  Hon.  Charles.     Eulogy  delivered  at  Boston,  Mass.,  June  i,  1865. 

Boston.     Svo.     pp.  61. 


Bibliographical  List  of  Books  and  Pamphlets.  345 

SuTPHEN,  Rev.  M.  C.     Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  16,  1865. 

♦    Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  19. 
Tapley,  R.  p.,  Esq.     Eulogy  delivered  at  Saco,  Me.,  with  Repoil  of  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Town,  April  19,  1S65.     Biddeford,  Me.     Svo.     pp.  27. 
Tappan,  Rev.  H.  P.,  D.D.     See  Sturz. 
Taylor,  Rev.  A.  A.  E.    Sermon  preached  at  Georgetown,  D.C.,  June  i,  1865. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  20. 
Thomas,  Rev.  A.  G.     Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  19,  1S65. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  16. 
TiMLOW,  Rev.  H.  R.     Sermon  preached  at  Rhinebeck,  N.Y.,  April  19,  1865. 

Rhinebeck,  N.Y.      i6mo.     pp.  42. 
Thompson,  Rev.  J.  C.     Sermon  preached  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  June  i.  1S65. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  20. 
Thompson,  Rev.  J.  P.,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  at  New  York,  April  30,  1S65. 

New  York.     Svo.     pp.  38. 
Twombly,  Rev.  A.  S.     Sermon  preached  at  Albany,  N.Y.,  April  16,   1S65. 

Albany,  N.Y.     Svo.,  large  paper,     pp.  iS. 
Tucker,  Rev.  J.  T.     Sermon  preached  at  HoUiston,  June  i,  1S65.     Holliston, 

Mass.     Svo.     pp.  21. 
Vincent,   Rev.   M.  R.      Sermon   preached    at  Troy,  N.Y.,  April  23,    1S65. 

Troy,  N.Y.     Svo.     pp.  47. 
Walden,  Rev.  T.     Two  Addresses  delivered  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  16 

and  19,  1S65.     Philadelphia,  Pa.     Svo.     pp.  41. 
Wallace,  Rev.  C.  C.     Sermon  preached  at  Placerville,  Cal.,  April  19,  1S65. 

Placerville.     Svo.     pp.  9. 
Wayman,  Rev.  James.     Sermon  preached  at  Liverpool,  Eng.,  May  7,  1S65. 

Liverpool,  Eng.     Svo.     pp.  S. 
Webb,  Rev.  E.  B.     Sermon  preached  at  Boston,  Mass.,  April  16,  1S65.     Bos- 
ton,    Svo.     2^P-  61  • 
Weiss,  Rev.  J.     Article  in  "  Friend  of  Progress,"  New  York,  June,  1S65. 
Westall,  John.     "  In  Memoriam."     Poem  :   privately  printed.     Fall  River, 

Mass.     Svo.     pp.  8. 
White,  Rev.  E.  N.     Sermon  preached  at  New  Rochelle,  N.Y. ,  June  i,  1865. 

New  York.     Svo.     pp.  25. 
White,  Rev.  P.  H.    Sermon  preached  at  Coventry,  Vt.,  April  23,  1S65.    Brat- 

tieboro',  Vt.     Svo.     pp.  20. 
WiLLCOX,  Rev.  G.  B.     Address  delivered  at  New  London,  Conn.,  April   19, 
1865,  together  with  an  Address  of  Rev.  T.  P.  Field,  D.D.,  and  Funeral 

Observances  in  that  City,  April  19,  1S65.     New  London.     Svo.     pp.  34. 

44 


346 


Appendix. 


Williams,  Rev.  R.  H.     Sermon  preached  at  Frederick,  Md.,  April  19,  1S65. 

Frederick,  Md.     8vo.     pp.  11. 
Williams,  Rev.  R.  H.     Sermon  preached  at  Frederick,  Md.,  June  i,  1865. 

8vo.     pp.  14. 
Williams,  Hon.  Thomas.     Eulogy  delivered  at  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  June  i,  1S65. 

8vo.     pp.  36. 
Wilson,  Rev.  W.  T.  M.  A.     Sermon  preached  at  Albany,  N.Y.,  April  19, 

1865.     Albany.     8vo.     pp.  25. 
Woodbury,  Rev.  A.     Sermon  preached  at  Providence,  R.I.,  April  16,  1865. 

Providence.      i3mo.     pp.  27. 
Woodbury,   Rev.  A.     Sermon   preached   at  Pi-ovidence,  R.I.,  June   i,   1865. 

Providence.      i3mo.     pp.  28. 
Worcester,  Rev.  T.,  D.D.     Sermon  preached  at  Boston,  June  i,  1865.     Bos- 
ton.    8vo.     pp.  14. 
Yard,  Rev.  R.  B.    Sermon  preached  at  New^ark,  N.J. ,  June  i,  1865.    Newark, 

N.J.     8vo.     pp.  23. 
Young,  Rev.  E.  J.     Article  in  "  Monthly  Religious  Magazine."     Boston,  May, 

1865. 
YouRTEE,  Rev.  S.  L.  A.  M.     Sermon  delivered  at  Springfield,  Ohio,  April  19, 

1865.     Springfield,  Ohio.     Svo.     pp.  16. 


FINIS. 


m 


